Initiative
by TVfan
Summary: Cap has defeated the Registration Act, but it is clear that there are still things to be done. A new foe is rising in the background, while another is resentful of how things have gone in the recent past.
1. Prologues and Conference of Heroes

All characters appearing in Captain America and other Marvel titles are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee, and are owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. All real persons mentioned in this story belong to themselves. No infringement of these copyrights or offense to the people mentioned is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder or persons. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: This story is my sequel to "Civil War" in the Captain America section and takes place immediately after that story.

Initiative

By TVfan

**Chapter 1: Prologues and Conference of Heroes**

**The Bronx, One Week After the New Avengers Came Together**

Parker Robbins ran down a rather dark street trying to evade his pursuer. He had successfully knocked off a convenience store and was getting away with the money. However, just as he came out of it, he found himself being pursued by one of the various heroes that resided in New York City. The hero was alone and dressed a purple and green suit of armor with a purple cape… the Prowler.

"You know, I can understand the whole robbing a convenience store thing," the Prowler quipped as he glided down and cut Parker Robbins' escape off, "Really I can."

"Sure," Parker Robbins answered, half afraid.

"It's true," the Prowler answered, "lost my job… had nowhere else to turn… thought I was better then what I deserved… so I turned to crime, way back when."

Parker Robbins tried to punch him, hoping he'd do something to distract him and allow him to get away. The Prowler, however, only caught his fist in one gauntleted hand, pulled Parker Robbins to him, and then restrained the thug with his other hand.

"But a guy who's recently joined the Avengers showed me that I didn't have to do this for good," the Prowler answered, "that being better then I deserved didn't mean crime was my only alternative… though I still really don't have much choice. These streets are dangerous, and someone has to protect them from thugs like you…"

"So why the sob story, man?" Parker Robbins asked.

"Because I'm willing to give you a chance at something better, as well," the Prowler responded, "a good an honest life. One where you aren't in trouble with the law."

"Get bent!" Parker Robbins answered.

The Prowler only sighed.

"Have it the hard way," the Prowler sighed, and knocked him out with one punch to the face.

The Prowler then left Parker Robbins unconscious and tied to a lamp post. The money he tried to get away with was tied to his leg. The common thug began to regain his senses as the police arrived.

"Well, if it isn't our favorite crook," one of the policemen quipped as he and his partner approached him, "who did you try to rob today, Robbins?"

Parker Robbins didn't answer, and in the end it was the partner that did answer the first officer.

"Dispatch says a guy that Robbins fit's the description of robbed a convenience store a few blocks away," the other Policeman informed his partner, "and he appears to have run into one of the city's heroes."

"Stupid heroes," Parker Robbins grumbled, knowing that if the Prowler hadn't cut him off, he would have gotten away.

"Many of them may be stupid," the first policeman commented, "but at least they are trying to protect the honest citizens. You are not."

And with that, the normal thug, Parker Robbins, was taken into custody. His trial ended up being short and brief, though his sentence was reduced because he had been apprehended by a superhero rather then a police officer. But even that short time would leave lasting lessons for Parker Robbins to learn.

**New York State Penitentiary, Two Weeks Later**

Parker Robbins paced a relatively small area in the prison's main yard, trying to ponder some way to come out on top in the world. Something that would be quick, something that would allow him to be powerful for once. It was as he did this that a couple of other crooks there approached him.

"So, who brought you in?" the first of them asked.

"The Prowler," Parker Robbins grumbled, "I got taken down by the freakin' Prowler. Some second rate hero."

"It could be worse," the first commented, "Spider-Man got me… left me dangling from a lamp-post with a note that said 'loser' webbed to my chest. Guy got a kick off of beating me up."

"How can that be worse?" Parker Robbins questioned, "Spider-Man is a top level hero. Everyone knows about Spider-Man. Only guys in a few back alleys have even heard of the Prowler."

"Yeah, but guys like the Prowler are all business," the first guy grumbled again, "Spider-Man is nothing but a clown. He has no business fighting people doing REAL business."

"None of the heroes have a right interfering in business," came a new voice, making Parker Robbins turn to see an inmate who seemed more miserable then he was approaching him.

"Who are you?" Parker Robbins demanded, not knowing the man. The others he was with were common thugs that he had occasionally had run ins with on the street. This knew character looked like he was something more powerful then the average thug.

"Moses Jo," the man introduced himself, "Used to work for the Kingpin before he was taken down."

"And what do you want with us?" the second of Parker Robbins' comrades asked him.

"Merely to explain how things were… or how things are," Moses Jo answered.

"And no heroes have a right interfering in business?" the first of Parker Robbins' comrades asked.

"Yes," Moses Jo nodded, "long ago powerful men controlled everything. Men like the Kingpin were kings among men. They controlled who had power and who didn't. And they made a fortune and insured that normal thugs could make a good living. And then heroes decided to challenge that. They made honest governments that made laws that fought corruption. They looked for icons to symbolize their 'goodness' and they challenged everything that those who ran the show before they appeared."

Moses Jo then slowly approached them.

"Of course the men who had ruled before didn't like this and created their counter to the heroes," Moses Jo spoke, "and they had hoped that as a group, their villains could vanquish the heroes. Sadly for us, they failed. They found that most villains had to much of a 'me first' persona and were never able to sacrifice personal wants for long term success… and so the battle has waged. Some men like the Kingpin have done better then others when it comes to controlling powerful individuals, but even he couldn't manage if perfectly."

"So all heroes are responsible?" Parker Robbins asked.

"They are responsible for the fight," Moses Jo replied, "the fact that they've won for so long is because they somehow manage to keep themselves unified better then the villains have. It even extends into today's era with all these 'supers' about. The Avengers are a fairly stable team. Their lineup changes fairly frequently, but they all put 'protecting' the city or humanity, or the world above their own interests. The Masters of Evil, meanwhile, fail to stay together for long, and all too often they end up defeating themselves, rather then being outfought by the heroes."

"So they need a unified face… or someone who can unify them," Parker Robbins surmised.

"Yeah, just about everyone's tried," Moses Jo nodded, "Baron Zemo, the Kingpin, Norman Osborn, Doctor Octopus."

"You ain't thinking' of trying to control a bunch of freaks in tights, are you Robbins?" Parker Robbins second comrade asked, "cuz many of them are freaks, even if they are on our side."

"It'd be an interesting and noble goal to reach for, though," Parker Robbins quipped, "Imagine it, all the world's supervillians working together in a sort of union. Then as a group, strong organized crime bosses like the Kingpin couldn't bully any supervillian into taking 'minimum wage' and as an effective team… no superhero could ever take them."

Moses Jo nodded, "Of course, whoever this leader would be, he would NEED to be able to persuade a lot of different people to make personal sacrifices. As said, the heroes have won these battles because they can function as a group."

Parker Robbins nodded. It was a goal he wanted, though at present, it was unlikely that anyone could really do anything about it. Parker Robbins was just your ordinary thug. Smarter then most, but with no powers, no super villain would ever consider working for him.

**The Bronx, Much Later**

Upon his release from the New York State Penitentiary, Parker Robbins continued to mull over what he had learned in his previous encounters and the ideas that Moses Jo had given him. A sort of union for super villains to use against organized crime bosses who tended to underpay those who did the bulk of their work and the heroes who when faced with a tougher opponent, seemed to team up against that villain.

And from recent events, Parker Robbins believed that something like that had recently happened. Some sort of 'alien entity' carrying the powers of mutants who had lost their powers in M-Day had attacked the Earth, killing nearly all of Canada's Alpha Flight Team and nearly beat the Avengers. But, the Avengers managed to pull together and defeat their more powerful foe. And now they were looking at another powerful threat, the Red Skull with the powers of the Cosmic Cube.

"So many with powers," Parker Robbins grumbled at the television, "so many who use them to hold common guy down. Heroes… supposed 'big time' villains. How much has the Red Skull ever helped those who've served him."

"The answer to that is 'never'," a voice said seemingly out of nowhere, "the Red Skull operates in what are his best interests and in his battles with America's heroes specifically, he plays a complex game of 'chess'… sacrificing those who need to be sacrificed to make sure that the Skull wins the war."

Parker Robbins blinked in surprise. No one was in the shabby apartment with him, or at least he thought no one was with him.

"Who's there?" Parker Robbins demanded, looking around.

"A friend," the voice answered simply.

"And just what sort of friend barges in on me?" Parker Robbins demanded clenching his fists.

"A friend with GREAT power," the voice answered, sounding almost amused, "and I can help you gain what you want."

"How do you know what I want?" Parker Robbins questioned.

"Because I have great power," the voice answered, "power beyond the mortals that call your dimension home… and I can help you. This super villain union of yours… I can give you the power to create it… to make it work… and YOU will bring the world's heroes to their knees."

"You would give me power?" Parker Robbins asked, clearly tempted by this voices offer.

"Yes," the voice replied, "the power needed to hold respect among the world's super villains and to defeat any hero that may dare to tangle with you."

Parker Robbins thought about the offer. The power needed to make the better world… the idea that Moses Jo had given him in prison. All of it would be within his grasp. But then, something the voice had said about the character of the Red Skull made him wonder something.

"How do I know that I'm not some part of some master plan on your part?" Parker Robbins asked suspiciously, "that I'm not some pawn for you to sacrifice?"

"I will not lie in saying that you will factor heavily in MY plans," the voice answered, "but you are hardly going to be a pawn. To lose you will hurt me in ways you can never understand… and you have my word that when everything is over, you will hold a position of power in my kingdom and your 'union' will be free to profit off of the weak that you and they will rule over for me."

"You make this sound like some otherworldly recruiting session," Parker Robbins commented, "How am I to know WHO you are? For all I know you could be the Red Skull using the Cosmic Cube."

"He doesn't have the Cube," the voice corrected, "he has its power… and I am NOT that Nazi. For him, global conquest is a victory for his theories of racial dominance and hatred."

"And for you?" Parker Robbins questioned.

"A far more simple principle," the voice replied, "I am mighty, therefore I'm right. And I am offering you the chance of a lifetime. If you have second thoughts, I will find someone else."

"No wait!" Parker Robbins called after the voice, now beginning to wander his apartment, as if trying to pin down where the voice was coming from, "I'll take it… just show me who you are."

"Excellent," the voice replied, "enter your bathroom… and you will see me."

Parker Robbins slowly entered the dirty bathroom and looked into the mirror, and he gasped at what he saw.

**Manhattan Rooftops, Shortly After Tony Stark Took Over S.H.I.E.L.D.**

Countess Giulietta Nefaria, alias Whitney Frost, alias Madame Masque looked up from a rooftop at Avengers Tower where at present the Pro-Registration Heroes resided, lead by the one man she detested the most. Anthony Stark… Tony for short… the Invincible Iron Man. She had long dreamed of taking the armored Avenger on and exacting her revenge for his betrayals of her, and his failure to save her father, and most importantly for destroying her once beautiful face.

But that was a near impossible dream. She was a skilled gymnast, hand to hand combat expert, and skilled marksman, but that wasn't nearly enough to take on Iron Man. The guns that had the power to penetrate his armor were to powerful for her to control and since she didn't have super powers, she couldn't stand up to Iron Man's technology… and now Stark was the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. thanks to Maria Hill's fanatical backing of the Registration Act. It would now be harder then ever to get at the man she loathed as only a rejected lover could.

"Ms. Masque," a low voice said from behind her.

She turned in surprise to see a lone man emerge from the shadows. He wore the pants and shirt of a rather common looking man, but he also wore a tattered red hood that hung over his face and served as a sort of cape behind him.

"Who are you?" Madame Masque demanded, drawing a gun, only to have him blast it away with a burst of lightning from his fingers.

"Please, Ms. Masque I am not here for a confrontation," the man answered, "You may call me the Hood."

"The Hood?" Madame Masque questioned.

"Yes," the Hood nodded, "It may not be much of a name, but the powers I hold now more then make up for it."

"What do you want?" Madame Masque wondered.

She had been in the game long enough to know that when villains dealt with each other, it was common for both of them to try and stab the other in the back. As that was all part of the plan. She had even done it multiple times before.

"The same thing you do," the Hood replied, "to bring down this country's heroes."

"Most of the rest of them are unimportant to me," Madame Masque replied, "all I want is Stark."

"But he is protected by the others," the Hood replied, "you'll never truly get at him alone… I've even heard rumors that he is working with Captain America to deal with the present threats made by the Red Skull."

"So, how do I figure into your plan to bring them all down?" Madame Masque questioned, "if they're all invincible together… and impossible to separate them, how do you plan to do it?"

"I plan to put together a union," the Hood smiled, "a union of super villains. But I will need help… particularly the help of one gifted strategist such as yourself."

"There are bigger names out there that are probably smarter then I," Madame Masque commented.

"Maybe, but they're too independent," the Hood replied, "the Red Skull has his vision of ruling the world. The Leader believes his brilliance can not be brought down to working WITH common thugs. Magneto, wherever he is, won't serve anyone. And the list will go on. I need someone who is both a good strategist and sees the truth that if we do not come together and cease these petty squabbles amongst ourselves, the heroes will always beat us."

"And how do you plan to do that? To get a bunch of independently minded people to work together?" Madame Masque questioned.

"It will take some money and some effort, but I'm sure they can be persuaded," the Hood shrugged.

"I'm afraid I can not provide much there," Madame Masque commented, "the Kingpin recently destroyed the Maggia in New York… and most that remain have sworn their allegiance TO the Kingpin, despite the fact that he's gone back to prison."

The Hood only laughed.

"With the heroes focused on a Nazi on his island and the government focused on crushing the heroes, for the moment, getting money will not be a problem," the Hood laughed.

And at this, Madame Masque found herself rather intrigued by what the Hood had to say. Though she would watch him fairly closely. She'd use him just long enough to kill Stark. From there, she'd leave him to his own devices, and if he managed to cobble together this 'union' of his, he wouldn't miss her anyway.

"So what do we do first?" Madame Masque questioned.

"For moment, search for a base that can function well out of sight," the Hood replied, "and then the REAL work will begin."

**Kronas HQ, Siberian/Mongolian Border**

Meanwhile a very different man from Parker Robbins was mulling over his own problems. He was Aleksander Lukin, the CEO of Kronas Industries and former General in the Soviet KGB. Much of the problems he was mulling over were started by him. He had planned to steal the Cosmic Cube from the Red Skull do use it to restore the old Soviet Union, but that mission had failed and cost him the USSR's greatest trophy of World War II, James Buchanan Barnes a.k.a. Bucky, alias, Winter Soldier. On top of it, he ended up with the Red Skull's mind in his head.

He had recently gotten the Nazi tyrant's mind out of his own, but that ended up in the Red Skull retaining the powers of Cosmic Cube and creating his Red Skull Reich in the middle of the Atlantic. Of course, some of that HAD to be done to get the Red Skull out of his mind, and Lukin was fully prepared to then take the offensive against the Red Skull, provided the western world would remember the evils of the Nazis and attack the freshly created island.

That failed. The Skull lied through his teeth and the American President believed every word. Since America did nothing to stop him and tacitly recognized the Red Skull Reich, America's European allies did nothing. The only ally he really had was Russia, but even with the Cosmic Cube to counter the Skull's powers, Lukin was concerned that the few Russian 'super soldiers' couldn't defeat the Red Skull. He had managed to work out a deal with Putin to allow Russia to begin arming itself advanced weaponry that could challenge America or the Red Skull in exchange for raw materials from Russia and a share in all the Russian mineral wealth near major Kronas facilities, but Lukin still knew that defeating the Red Skull would require the West's help. Far too many Soviets died defeating Hitler the first time, with what little help the Western Allies gave them. Russia couldn't take on the Red Skull alone… and so far, that was what it looked like.

"Excuse me, sir, your three thirty appointment is here," his secretary said to him over the intercom.

"I told you to cancel all my appointments! I need to think some things over!" Lukin answered.

He got no response from his secretary.

"Hello!" Lukin yelled into his intercom button.

Again he got now answer. He was about to yell again when his door opened letting two figures enter his office.

"I'm afraid that for the moment that your people are mentally on pause for the moment," one spoke to him.

Lukin did recognize both of them.

"You! I recognize the both of you!" Lukin gasped, "How many charlatans do I need to deal with it? First the Skull and now the two of you!"

"We are no charlatans, I assure you," the taller of the two figures spoke in a fairly arrogant tone, "we are merely in need of some help that you can provide."

"And why would I help you?" Lukin demanded.

"Because I can provide you with help in getting even with the ones that have betrayed all that you hold morally important," the taller figure answered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lukin answered.

"Please," the taller figure almost laughed, "everyone knows your past. A Russian boy who lost his mother to the Red Skull's villainy and now that tyrant has sidestepped the legal processes that would surely sentence him to death. Even in Europe. It has to truly irk you to see civilization turn its back on itself, doesn't it."

"Yes," Lukin grumbled, "but I don't see how YOU fit in to this."

"I can help you punish those that have allied with the Red Skull," the taller figure said confidently.

"My concerns are only with the Red Skull for the moment," Lukin answered.

"Please, the Nazi himself is unimportant," the taller figure answered, "all he's really done is incarcerate himself on an island… one that will likely sink back into the Atlantic if he leaves it for too long."

"But he has the power of the Cosmic Cube!" Lukin countered.

"And as far as I have researched, the only way he could have gotten that was from the Cosmic Cube itself," the taller figure smirked, "and you were the last one to have possession of the Cube. I'd believe that you can defend your own interests well with the Cube…"

"The Cube and his powers have been altered so that they can not effect each other," Lukin grumbled.

"Then he can not attack you at all so long as you posses your Cube," the shorter figure commented.

"So your only problem is with those that have allied themselves with the Red Skull," the taller figure added, "crush them, and Kronas will be perfectly safe. And I can give you a plan that will do just that."

"And the Red Skull will be defeated?" Lukin asked.

"Isolated on his island as you take control of the world," the taller figure answered, "and unable to attack you because your cube can not be affected by his powers. He will live and die on that little island he's raised for himself."

"Very well," Lukin sighed, "and what is the price you're demanding of me for this help?"

"Just this," the taller figure answered handing Lukin a sheet of paper.

"This is…" Lukin gasped.

"Yes," the taller figure nodded, "I need your Cube to create it for me as obtaining the original will be too difficult."

"And what do you need with this?" Lukin questioned.

"I need it to defeat a personal foe that is not as beaten as many would think, because I have not destroyed him," the taller figure answered.

Lukin was silent for the moment. From what he knew of the taller figure, he only had ONE personal enemy, and with the Cosmic Cube in his possession, Lukin was privately sure that if that being ever attacked Kronas, he would bow before Lukin's might. However, if the taller figure was confident he could defeat the being he was referring to, Lukin was more then happy to let him do it. He had bigger fish to fry.

"Very well," Lukin answered as he reached into a drawer where he kept the Cosmic Cube, "but before I give you your sample, you will explain to me this plan that will defeat the Red Skull's allies."

The taller figure gave a confident smile.

"First you will need to manufacture some specialized amplifiers," the taller figure began, "or get them from somewhere. That I'll leave to you…"

**A Bank in Hoboken, New Jersey**

The scene that Iron Man flew into was one that almost resembled a war zone. The bank's security officers were badly burned by electricity, one policeman that had been quick to respond was being treated for a gunshot wound, and the bank's safe had been ripped open. Whoever had robbed it had decided to forgo trying to figure out the combination. The robber had simply ripped the giant heavy door out, partially pulling the entire safe out of the wall as well.

"How did this happen?" Iron Man asked in a low voice.

"I don't really know," the bank's chief of security answered, "this guy in a hood just appeared out of nowhere with some woman in a mask wrapped in his cape. He fired some blast from his fingers that disabled all of our electrical and communications systems… by the time I could get to a phone that could work to call you in… they were gone."

Iron Man looked over the scene. His sensors picked up large amounts of otherworldly energies, which men like Dr. Strange called magic, being left behind in the lobby. Like it was lingering there and didn't just 'magically' leave with the robber.

"Did your cameras catch anything before the guy took them out?" Iron Man asked.

"Not much," the bank's chief of security sighed, "come with me… maybe you'll get more out of them then I will."

Iron Man followed the man into his office, filled with the screens that normally showed what the security cameras showed. But since they had been destroyed in the robbery, they only showed static for the moment.

"Our recording equipment is in here actually, and while the guy's attack shut everything down, the stuff in here remained physically in tact," the bank's chief of security explained, "so the stuff that was recorded when they came in is still accessible."

Again Iron Man's sensors picked up the residual traces of otherworldly energy. The security man then pressed play and one of the screens showed what one of the cameras had caught. One was of a male he didn't recognize. He wore a hooded cape that kept his face hidden and it seemed to be in tatters, but the other person was all too well known to him Madame Masque. After being on camera for a few seconds, lightning erupted from the man's fingers and hit nearly every person in the room and took out the cameras.

"That is all we have," the bank's security chief sighed, "can you do anything with that?"

"I can identify the woman," Iron Man sighed, "the man is a complete unknown, and if magic is involved, both of them could be anywhere by now. It will take awhile to track them down… and potentially more heroes then myself to bring the man down."

"And the woman?"

"On her own I can capture her easily," Iron Man sighed, "it is the man that is the odd card in the hand. The wild card if you will."

"But you will try to get them?" the bank's chief of security asked, "right?"

"Of course," Iron Man nodded, "I'll have a squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents begin doing some of the grunt work to assist the police. Perhaps they can even get a few leads for me to follow up on."

"Thank you, Iron Man," the bank's chief of security answered.

The whole thing was a nightmare, particularly for the Avengers. The old team had been destroyed by Wanda's mental breakdown. The loss of too many good friends plus the destruction of Avengers Mansion, among other things, cost them all the ability to stay together, and the world was still dealing with the consequences of destruction of the 'old' Avengers. Tony tended to think of those teams as the Classic Avengers, but they were still gone and the problems caused by the destruction of that team were still there.

The 'New' Avengers had only just been formed as a result of the breakout started by Electro. And now that team was broken up thanks to the Red Skull and the Registration Act. Cap and a fair number were underground in resistance against the Act. Spider-Man had been sent on a secret mission by Maria Hill, and had not yet returned. The Sentry, while registered, remained in his tower, presumably watching over things.

And now an unknown male super villain, who from what little footage of him that there was, looked like he could beat up Thor had appeared on the scene. The stress that the country and the Avengers were feeling couldn't hold for long under this kind of pressure. As Iron Man rocketed away to begin coordinating some search for this new villain, one lone thought went through his head.

"Come on, Cap," Iron Man sighed, "we're all running out of time."

**Avengers Tower, Shortly After the Defeat of the Registration Act**

Cap's victory in court brought about a great relief to the superhero community. The Red Skull's plan for a civil war was thwarted and America's heroes were safe from being enslaved for the moment. This would allow the Avengers that had gone underground to come back to the Tower, and the Avengers would be able to deal with the multitude of problems that still had to be faced.

Not all of these problems were super villain caused though, and Tony knew that. There were legitimate reasons for the Registration Act and good things it could have done, but Hill and the government took it to a point of maintaining power which would have only made things worse. And now, the superhero community would have to do something before something worse somehow made it into law. Tony hoped they could come up with some system that would work.

As he entered the main conference room, Tony looked out to see the faces of those there. Cap, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Hank Pym, Wasp, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, the Thing… just about every major superhero was present.

"Thank you all for coming," Tony spoke as he sat down beside Cap at a long conference table.

The others nodded.

"We have much that needs to be done, and likely not much time to do it in," Tony began, "as I'm sure you're all aware, Cap recently defeated the Red Skull's plan for all of us to fight each other in a superhero civil war…"

"And now we pound that skinhead, right?" Luke Cage asked.

"Actually, no," Tony sighed heavily and braced himself for what was coming.

"WHAT?" Cap protested, "he's quite possibly the most evil man to ever walk this Earth and we're going to let him go free?"

"Ultimately no, but for the moment, he's given us problems to deal with that go beyond him," Tony sighed, "the Skull played to legitimate fears that the government had, and while you beat the Skull's plan… that doesn't mean there aren't matters that need to be dealt with. Matters that don't involve the Red Skull."

"Like what?" Susan Richards, the Invisible Woman, wondered.

"The issues that the Red Skull manipulated to try and get us to have a superhero civil war," Tony Sighed.

"The Registration Act?" Luke Cage asked, "Cap beat that!"

"Yes," Tony nodded, "Yes, he did. But everyone should know that the government is not going to give up. They're in a tight position because those voted for the Registration Act are being voted out in the present election cycle, but not ALL of them were up for election this year and Vice President is still insisting on a new Registration Act be voted on."

That earned a collective shudder from nearly everyone there.

"I can not believe that man," Cap sighed, "I can not believe him."

"And he does still have supporters in the government," Tony nodded, "which means that there is still a pile of proverbial dynamite that we are all sitting on at the moment. One moment… one incident… and Cap's victory and the recent elections could give us problems that are far worse then what the Skull forced."

"And what can we do?" Hank Pym asked, "the government wanted a draft… and that is putting thing things lightly."

"Not a draft," Cap answered, "enslaved, "they wanted to enslave us all to control us.".

"And the Vice President still wants to do that," Tony answered, "and while legally speaking, Cap defeated that and the Registration Act there isn't much that can be done form try into to start it again through some revised version of it."

"Then what can we do?" Ms. Marvel asked.

"We work to regulate ourselves rather then let the government regulate us," Tony spoke, "rather then let things go bad, we work to try and protect ourselves and to move forward."

"Not everyone is going to go along with that," Peter Parker, Spider-Man, spoke up, "I mean they all wanted us to follow them like they knew our villains better the we did and nearly practically insulted man y of us when we tired to help."

"Maria Hill's politics," Tony nodded, ""it's what's going to make our entire position rough, "it's why we need to change how we have done things."

"So what will we do to regulate ourselves?" Cap asked, "to to make sure that we are defended against the possible mistakes that could be made?"

"Knowing full well that not everyone's gonna unmask themselves," Luke Cage added, "cuz' I ain't."

Tony looked to Hank and Reed and sighed.

"Unmasking may be part of it… but considering how Hill and the government ran it… I would have to agree, the heavy handed approach will not work," Tony commented, "I will still say that it is of my preference that every hero 'register' as it were, but I'm not about to force anyone… when all that would be gained from it is a fight."

"I'm not sure if I can really go along with this," Peter commented, "what the Skull did forced some pretty big changes on MJ and I and how we operate… removing the mask isn't something that can easily be done…"

"True," Hank nodded, "but we can't just trust the government to trust us to do the right thing. The fact that the Registration Act was past and that Hill and the government carried it as far as they did proves it. We need to do more then just wear masks and beat up bad guys."

"We need to show the people that we protect that we are willing to restrain ourselves," Reed added, "we need to show them that were aren't an aristocracy of spandex wearing nobles thinking ourselves better then them… it would tend to make them jealous."

"So your solution is to willingly enslave yourself to the government?" Luke Cage challenged.

"They don't trust us, Luke," Hank Pym argued, "you can't expect them not to want some control over their lives. They don't trust us to monitor ourselves. It's probably why the Registration Act was passed so easily in the end. They figured they would be able to gain some control over their lives by insuring that we weren't running around unsupervised."

"After all we've done for them," Wolverine grumbled, "after all that we've done, they stab us in the back."

"What about someone knew though?" Tony then spoke up, "I'm sure they trust established heroes to a certain extent. Shoot, Hill originally wanted Cap to lead the Registration effort. The fact that he was able to see through the Red Skull's plot and refused is probably what made her get as fanatical as she did… but not every hero has Cap's clout…"

"Or support," Peter grumbled, drawing eyes toward him. He then groaned, "Oh come on… surely you've all read a Daily Bugle, 'Spider-Man: Menace', 'Spider-Man: Murderer', 'Spider-Man: Villain or Menace?', and my personal favorite, 'Reward for Spider-Man's Secret Identity', which now isn't so secret."

"And having us all go public and work as good little S.H.I.E.L.D. agents is going to solve our problems?" Luke Cage questioned.

"I doubt it really," Tony sighed, "because of the fact that the bad guys are going to be less willing to abide by any code of decency then anyone… but we need to do something…"

"For what?" Wolverine asked.

"The Avengers as a team," Tony sighed, "the shining light of all that is good. The champions of the innocent… do I need to go on?"

"Don't we have that already though?" Peter wondered, "the New Avengers?"

"The Red Skull successfully destroyed that team by revealing the political weaknesses our country has when it comes to superheroes," Tony sighed, "the government wanted to control us… which those of us on the Pro-Registration side didn't want… and the people want to be protected, but don't feel safe the way things were done in the past. We need to prove to them we are still there to protect them."

There was an awkward silence for a moment as everyone was thinking the issue over. It was Cap who finally spoke up.

"Perhaps we could use two teams," Cap spoke up, searching for a compromise between the two camps.

"Two teams?" Tony turned to him.

"Yes," Cap nodded, "I doubt that many of the heroes that sided with me through the Registration Act are going to suddenly become S.H.I.E.L.D. agents because its been defeated… and I doubt we can really convince you to fully agree with us. The one thing I would hope we can do is work together for the common good."

"That might not be a bad idea," Hank Pym commented, "after all, the Old Avengers commonly had an insanely huge rooster of active members… though not all of them went on missions. Why not the New Avengers now? Cap and Iron Man can lead the two teams. Cap's team can largely go the way they've always gone while Tony's team will work with S.H.I.E.L.D. as official agents and both teams can work together if something big enough comes along that more then one team would be needed."

There were some nods at that from nearly everyone.

"That might work," Tony mused, "though there are some things that as the new Director S.H.I.E.L.D., I'm going to have make some sort of statement of what I'm in support of or in opposition to… and for the most part, all of us will need to put up with some self imposed regulation."

"Why?" Luke Cage wondered.

"So that we don't make things worse," Tony answered, "but Cap does have a good idea. The 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' team can present to the people that we are willing to make sacrifices to help train new and untrained heroes while Cap's team can present the picture that there is nothing to fear from experienced heroes… hopefully it will ease their fears on the issue."

The others nodded.

"I'm with Cap, though," Luke Cage spoke.

"So am I," Peter nodded, "I have no desire to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent after Hill partnered me with one of my worst enemies and sent me running after an organization that was already beaten… and making me miss the birth of my children besides."

"So am I," Jessica Drew, Spiderwoman, added.

"As am I," Wolverine commented, "though, you will all have to remember that I also share duties with the X-Men."

Cap slowly nodded as it looked like most of the New Avengers were going to be on 'his' team.

"I'm willing to help you, Tony," the Sentry spoke from where he stood.

Tony blinked and then looked up to see the long haired blonde superhero there. He then nodded.

"Ms. Marvel?" Tony spoke to her.

"Yeah, Tony?" Ms. Marvel looked up from where she'd been listening to everything.

"It would appear that Cap has his team ready," Tony said slowly, "I will need your help in picking who will be on the Avengers: Red Team."

"Red team?" Ms. Marvel asked.

"To be paired with Cap's Avengers: Blue Team," Tony commented, "mostly based off the primary colors of our uniforms. Cap's is mostly blue while my armor is mostly red."

Ms. Marvel then nodded.

"And how will this work?" Reed asked, "Two separate teams? Tony, working with S.H.I.E.L.D. might be the only way we can solve the problem of people not trusting us. How can two teams, one of which not tied to S.H.I.E.L.D. do better then one?"

"Cap's team won't be completely separate from S.H.I.E.L.D.," Tony sighed, "I fully intend to put a published list of the non-Registered heroes in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files along with a ranking showing what levels of training they will need. People will have full access to the list and those that don't come into S.H.I.E.L.D. will be fully accountable…"

"There's a good many though that are well established don't really need to be trained," Luke Cage pointed out.

Tony nodded, "and when the people see that, hopefully, they'll see that a lot of the fervor for Registration and control that the Red Skull stirred up was unnecessary. Shoot, Cap would be on both the list of Registered and non-Registered heroes because he went public with his own identity shortly after the Nine-Eleven attacks. And out of all of us, he's probably the best trained for superhero work."

"I'm sure there are others who are just as well trained as I am, Tony," Cap commented.

Tony nodded, "the big issue with the system is to set up an organization that we can train either young or inexperienced heroes to use their powers in the best possible way. The way the New Avengers have done as a team with the Young Avengers and the way Peter has done with his wife."

"How do you plan to do that?" Wolverine wondered, "the Professor's tried that with the X-Men… and while he does an excellent job, there are still those who get through the cracks and end up with Magneto or Mr. Sinister or some other mutant foe."

"The idea we had was to establish a training camp," Hank Pym commented, "we can gather and send all our young or inexperienced heroes there where we can have S.H.I.E.L.D. agents assist in the actual training of these new heroes."

"Again tying us to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Luke Cage asked.

"There aren't enough experienced superheroes to do things based on apprenticeship," Tony commented, "we will need a larger instillation where new heroes can be trained."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. though would want them to be soldiers," Cap pointed out, "they commonly deal with groups like AIM, Hydra, and Al Qaeda. Military level threats. Threats that are very different from say the common gangster or street thug that most heroes encounter on a day to day basis."

Tony looked down and sighed, "I'd hoped we could work together to try and fix that within S.H.I.E.L.D., but for the moment I'm still working through the issues of repairing the leadership issues that Hill left behind. For the moment, my best idea would be to have some experienced heroes running this 'school' so to speak. They can set the curriculum and command the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents there. Some could even be instructors as well."

"Who do you have to run this 'school'?" Hank Pym wondered.

"I was actually leaning toward you, since you've wanted to be retired from a lot of the field work of a superhero," Tony commented, "but, you still know a lot about the job. It would allow you to pass your knowledge on to others."

"Oh," Hank Pym responded in a somewhat surprised tone, though it didn't look like anyone caught it.

"And heroes from both sides that would prefer to teach are more then welcome to work there," Tony added, "I want this to work out for all of us. Show those that want to regulate us that we can regulate ourselves and that a great deal of it is not necessary."

There was a short silence for a moment as Tony looked on. He hoped they had worked out a deal that would work with both groups. He was sure the government probably wouldn't approve, but the Registration Act that they wanted, proved to be wrong and poorly done.

"Well," Cap spoke, "I think we've gotten a good start. There is plenty of details to hammer out, but I believe we have a good start."

"Thanks, Cap," Tony sighed, "Hopefully we've got things done right."

"I hope so too," Cap nodded, "I hope so too."

And with that the meeting broke up. There were a lot of details to hammer out, and Tony would be walking a tightrope for awhile, but hopefully it would work. As it broke up, Tony walked toward a more computer/control room with Ms. Marvel following. As they did so, Dr. Strange, who had been silent through the meeting and the discussion approached Cap as he moved to leave the conference room.

"If it would be of no trouble to you, Captain, I would help your team," Dr. Strange spoke slowly to the star spangled Avenger.

"You would join us?" Cap asked in surprise, as Dr. Strange largely stayed out many of the major superhero teams.

It was only when the Avengers had run into something throwing around powerful magics that the Sorcerer Supreme became involved in aiding the Avengers.

"Yes, Captain," Dr. Strange nodded, "during your recent battle with the Red Skull and the Registration Act, I felt a powerful tremor go through our plane of existence…"

"Something magical?" Cap asked.

"Yes," Dr. Strange nodded, "and not from our dimension… and it's power is beyond most things I have encountered. Both teams may soon be forced to deal with this, but because of its danger, it is probably a good thing to let the Red Skull sit isolated on his island for the moment. If this extra-dimensional invader is not benevolent, we could be facing a far more powerful foe then the Red Skull. I am already certain that I can not face this foe alone."

And with that, Cap sighed heavily.

**To Be Continued…**

"**This is not a time for soundbites. We've left them at home. I feel he hand of history upon our shoulders… I'm here to try."**

Tony Blair, British Labour Statesman, quoted in Irish Times (April 11, 1998)


	2. Red And Blue

All characters appearing in Avengers and other Marvel titles are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee, and are owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. All real persons mentioned in this story belong to themselves. No infringement of these copyrights or offense to the people mentioned is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder or persons. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: This story is my sequel to "Civil War" in the Captain America section and takes place immediately after that story.

Initiative

By TVfan

**Chapter 2: Red And Blue**

**Hotel Conference Room**

While Steve and Tony held their conference on how they would take America's heroes forward, a very different conference was being held in the Conference Room. It wasn't a very big hotel chain, and the conference room was on the small end, but it was the best that could be 'afforded' by those who were using it.

"Is everyone here?" Parker Robbins, the Hood, asked to the two people standing outside the door to the conference room.

One was Whitney Frost, Madame Masque and the other was one of Parker Robbins' associates before he became the Hood. He was a small mousy little man known as John King. Both were important as far as the Hood saw them. He would need Madame Masque for her strategic abilities when it came to fighting the country's heroes. John was needed because someone would be needed to handle the money that would be thrown around. John was also there to serve as a reminder as to where Parker Robbins came from.

The super-villain union was to be for more then just super-villains. Parker Robbins wanted to restore the right way, where the strong prospered. Before heroes, law makers, governments, and all these other things interfered with the way things were. It would make things better for all villains, regardless of whether or not they were 'super'. As Parker Robbins, after all, was a petty thug, with a rap sheet a mile long. Even though he was now the Hood, he had no intention of leaving all the common thugs out to hang. His 'union' would protect them and allow them to lie, cheat, steal, murder, rape, pretty much do whatever they pleased, because that was how the strong persevered.

It would be just like the law of the jungle. If animals followed the same laws as people, lions and tigers would go hungry, or would do extensive jail time for being lions and tigers. But people revered these animals, but yet the prosecuted the people that lived much like the lion or the tiger in the human world... that the people being prosecuted were the criminals, who preyed on the people who weren't strong. Weren't lions or tigers. Parker Robbins had found them to be more like sheep. Ready to be slaughtered.

"Nearly everyone that you've sent invitations to are here, sir," John answered, "those that aren't... I think they're in jail already."

"And now we're ready to put the union together," the Parker Robbins smiled to Madame Masque, "put all the heroes in their place!"

Madame Masque smiled. She didn't really think this newcomer's idea would be long lasting, but he was new and he did wield powers that were great. That would be good enough to put something together for a little while. And perhaps, the Hood would be able to help accomplish what she had often failed to do on her own, kill Tony Stark. Beyond that, she had no real plan on what to do with herself.

"Of course," Madame Masque answered, "but how do you intend to get a bunch of individually minded super criminals to follow you?"

"Hopefully they'll realize the importance of joining this union," Parker Robbins as he pulled up his hood, "if not... a little bit of force here and there and reminding them of what has happened to them on their own... but if they recognize the issues, they'll join."

And with that, the Hood made his entrance to the conference room with Madame Masque and John following him. There were a great many super-villains there. Some were well known, some were not. Some were fairly powerful, many were not. But the Hood knew that all of them had suffered at the hands of various superheroes.

"Hello all," the Hood spoke as he entered, "I'm sure you're all wondering why you've been called here. Who I am. What is in this little get together for you. And all of that will be revealed."

Several looked on as the Hood approached the head of the table.

"My name is Parker Robbins, though you can also call me the Hood..." the Hood answered, "for obvious reasons... and I am here, because I have a vision A vision that will include all of you. And will give you, me... ALL of us what we truly deserve. No more of the being left dangling in from a lamp-posts in web cocoons. No more being cuffed and left unconscious by a man wearing the flag. No more being blasted through a wall by a rich snob in a high tech knight's costume. We will get what we want and deserve... Money, sex, power, you name it."

"Anything we want?" Wrecker asked from a table.

"Yes," the Hood promised, "and more."

"Like killing that spider-broad...?" Wrecker asked.

"Which one?" the Hood retorted, "There is Arachne: Mary Jane Watson-Parker, wife of Spider-Man. There is Jessica Drew, the first Spiderwoman. There is Julia Carpenter, the second Spiderwoman who presently doesn't have her powers. There is Mattie Franklin, niece of J. Jonah Jameson, the third Spiderwoman, though she is also without her powers for the moment. And there is also Arana, also known as Anya Corazon, fifteen year old kid."

"Never got her name," Wrecker answered, "black hair, red and yellow costume."

"That would be Jessica Drew," the Hood answered, "but yes, that can be arranged, but at the moment, petty threats and grudges should be the last thing we need to look to."

"What?" Piledriver asked from beside Wrecker, "Dude says he wants someone dead, and you're wantin' to lead us, you better kill 'em!"

"Did I say we weren't?" the Hood asked back.

"No, but..." Piledriver began to protest.

"Then let me finish, and I will explain what will need to be done," the Hood answered, "because the path to victory will not be easy and nor will it be one that you are used to."

"How?" Wrecker asked, sounding curious.

The Hood only smiled.

"The way to do this is to come together," the Hood answered, "to form a union. By working together we can get all we want and deserve and then some."

"Many have tried making teams before," Purple Man commented, "all of them have failed."

"Yes... but in the end, the leader hadn't brought a team together," the Hood answered, "there was no Criminal Avengers. Just a bunch of grunts to be used by either the one with the most brains or the most muscle to fight that one guy's battle. And in the end, they'd defeat themselves. And that's left you with the same old problems. Being sent to Ryker's Island... being sent to the Raft... having some costumed lunatic bust down your door and ruining what is rightfully yours. And if you are anything like me, you're all sick of that. Sick of being victimized by sheep."

The Hood began to walk around the table as he continued.

"But that can all change," the Hood spoke, "I am no Norman Osborn. No Red Skull. No Magneto. No one who will use you in his petty squabbles with one hero. Work with me and we will ALL prosper with our individual goals."

"How?" Piledriver asked.

"It's a fairly simple formula," the Hood replied, "when you got some hero or S.H.I.E.L.D. you come to me. We will plan out the appropriate response and I will help you put together a team that will destroy the problem before they destroy you. And then, anything of value that can be had... is divided evenly. Instead of one or two of you facing all the Avengers, it'll ten or twelve of you against one Avenger. Much better odds, don't you think?"

"YEAH!" was the unanimous cry.

"Good," the Hood answered, "because the only way that'll work is if we work together. No more petty fights among ourselves over whose take is bigger off of an individual job. In terms of robberies, we'll divide everything even. I won't get anymore then eve the 'lowest' member of our union. Any object... such as an artifact or weapon will only be targeted if it presents the prospect of making us more money... with which we can do anything we want with once we've divided it up."

The Hood continued to walk and observed the faces of the crooks that had flocked to his meeting.

"But remember, if we are to be a team... a union... a group... we must be organized," the Hood answered, "we must follow one leader. And I will be it. Any plans for a job you come up with, you come to me for clearance first. That way, one group doesn't trip over the other or we alert the cops, S.H.I.E.L.D. or the heroes."

"Why you?" one the gathered super-villains asked.

"Why me what?" the Hood asked.

"Why are you in charge?" that super-villain asked.

The Hood only chuckled and raised one hand. A series of envelopes then suddenly appeared in front of all the people gathered there.

"I am in charge, because this was MY idea," the Hood answered, "inside those envelopes is twenty five grand, stolen by myself and Madame Masque to suit this very occasion. Spend it how you please... but I'd suggest you get yourself ready because when it comes to the BIG score... if you've upgraded everything, you'll do even better. Missions will be run by how your powers work. In other words... if we need to sneak in somewhere, we won't be sending the Wrecking Crew. If we need to bash someone's head in, we won't send Purple Man... get the picture?"

There were a few hesitant nods.

"And during all of this, should anyone give you any trouble," the Hood continued, "the rest of us will take care of that hero for you."

"How?" Wrecker asked.

"The same way the Triad deals with people who say 'no'," the Hood shrugged, "kill all that are close to them. Once they're broken spiritually, they'll follow us... and if they hold out and come after us...? With their families dead, I doubt they'll be of sound enough mind to matter."

"You make it sound rather easy," Wizard commented, "if it were that easy, we would have done it a long time ago."

"The world was different then," the Hood gave a laugh, "the heroes weren't coming off being attacked by the government... and you didn't have me. Granted to many of you who are old salts at this, I am a rookie and normally one you'd simply ignore... and if this were the old world, I'd understand. But this is a new world and between the effects of the Registration Act and my powers...they are no longer able to hide from us. We will know who the all are."

"Cap got the Registration Act revoked... declared unconstitutional," Wizard told him.

"Of course he did... but what about the heroes who registered while it was in affect?" the Hood asked back, "are you just going to forget their names and faces?"

"No."

Again the Hood smiled.

"Of course not," the Hood smiled, "and since everyone either has some traceable file or a Facebook page... we can track them down that way... or we can let the Hood do the work..."

And with that, the Hood held out his hands and the villains all gasped in surprise as a torrent of electric energy went out. All of the security cameras then exploded with any footage on them going as well, some of the lights were also shorted out. The electricity then formed a giant circle near the ceiling. Inside the circle the images of various heroes and their families appeared.

"Trust me when I say you haven't had a boss like me," the Hood spoke.

"And what's to stop us from taking the money and leaving?" a man with long silver hair asked.

"And all you need in life is twenty five grand?" the Hood asked, "Judas Traveller, you've been hiding in back alleys and weak psychologists offices since the Scriers roughed you up. You had to be saved by Spider-Man. That is twenty five grand to get a start. By working together, we can strike bigger targets and make a lot of money. Money to make this look like petty chump change. You could buy an island with the kinda money we can make... we'll achieve power unlike anything you've seen before... and with the heroes crushed before us we... the lions and tigers of this world will take back what is ours. We will rule over everyone... not like some sort of government... they will do what we want... we'll control them from behind the scenes... the powers behind the throne, as it were. We will rule and get all we want. They'll make movies about us! Grand movies that make us look good, and not the stupid flag waivers like Captain America. The tycoons like Iron Man, or the clowns like Spider-Man. Are you with me?"

"YES!" was the reply the Hood heard.

"Good," the Hood smiled, and then motioned to John and Madame Masque, "these are my associates Madame Masque and John King. When one of you have a plan or a lead or a problem, you come to them. Treat them as you would treat me, got it?"

The Hood waited for the gathered heroes to nod and then snapped his fingers, leaving a card with the address that would be considered the meeting place for the Super-Villain Union (SVU).

"Good," the Hood answered, "get your things ready, boys and girls... because when the real stuff starts... it will be quite a show!"

The others then began file out. The last man in line was a well dressed man in a suit, who had actually been quiet throughout the entire meeting.

"Good day, Mr. Hood," the man spoke calmly, "If you do truly know everything about the heroes... I'm sure you already know who I am."

The Hood nodded, "You work for the Kingpin, who is currently in jail."

"A minor handicap," the man answered, "but anyway, that isn't why I am talking with you."

"Oh?" the Hood wondered.

"The Kingpin's lawyers have found the proper loopholes to allow him to be released and he will be taking his place as the leader of organized crime in the New York area," the man answered, "and as one of his agents..."

"You're required to listen in on other's conversations," the Hood replied.

"Of course," the man nodded, "but I believe the Kingpin would be interested in working with you in a relatively loose partnership. The financial prices for what I would assume you'd prefer to be temporary labor in this case so that your 'union' isn't taken over by the Kingpin, may be settled between you and the Kingpin when he is released. I am also at liberty to say that the Kingpin would wish you well in your endeavors against the heroes."

"Thank you," the Hood replied, "I'll consider his offer and should he wish to hire anyone that works for me for a job, you know where to go first."

The man nodded, "Good luck."

"Thank you," the Hood smiled.

**Avengers Tower**

Meanwhile Tony Stark and Carol Danvers, also known as Iron Man and Ms. Marvel, moved into one of the various situation room that was part of the new Avengers Tower. Carol was very impressed with the tech that Tony had put into the tower.

"So, we've got two teams of Avengers now, and a plan that will hopefully keep the government off of our backs for awhile," Carol began as she looked around, "what next?"

"We set who will be on Avengers: Red Team," Tony gave a sigh, "Other then you, me, and the Sentry."

"Wait... the Sentry?" Carol asked.

"Yeah, he just volunteered to help out," Tony reminded her.

"I thought that was just in general," Carol answered, "The guy is a basket case."

"We need him," Tony answered.

"Tony, you and Cap had to fight him to get control over his personal demons when the 'New' Avengers were founded," Carol answered, "The Sentry isn't like Spider-Man or many of the other 'amateur' heroes out there. The guy is practically immortal and a loose cannon. You'd be better off to lock him in the Negative Zone with the world's most powerful shrink."

Tony only sighed. He had brought Carol along to help him pick the Red Team. The Team he was supposed to lead. He hoped he wouldn't have to fight with her over every team member.

"Carol, the Sentry may not be 'healthiest' of heroes," Tony sighed, "but we still need him. Think of him more like the Young Avengers team that Cap and I were training before the Red Skull pulled his latest stunt."

"So you're turning the Avengers into a training camp?" Carol asked back, "if that's the case, why not send him to this school... academy... whatever... that you'll have Pym leading?"

"Because the Sentry has power levels that go beyond what Hank can handle... shoot I think Hank is sometimes more trouble then Hank can handle," Tony sighed, "He has the potential to be right up there with Thor in terms of the 'greatest Avengers ever'... but with some of his problems... he requires proper help and guidance... or else we'd end up with ANOTHER Scarlet Witch scenario on our hands."

"We could have that even if with all your help," Carol warned him.

"We know what to look for now, and we know what to do," Tony answered, "and anyway, as Red Team's leader, it's my say on who is a member. And the Sentry is on the team."

"And you're certain he'll avoid killing us all?" Carol asked.

"Yes," Tony answered.

"Alright then..." Carol sighed, "It's your call."

"Thank you," Tony replied.

"So other then you, me, and the Sentry... who are we looking at for a team?" Carol asked.

"We'll need to set a team of around seven or eight members," Tony explained, "it will depend on how many end up on Cap's team."

"And who is on Cap's team?"

"Based on things," Tony commented, "I'd assume Cap, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, and Spiderwoman. Basically most of the New Avengers roster."

"Weren't there others?" Carol wondered.

"Other then me and the Sentry?" Tony sighed, "there was Echo... but Spider-Man found her in Tokyo on Hill's mission for him against the Scriers. Echo had been grabbed by the Hand, and is still in process of being de-brainwashed. So assuming she's going for seven to eight members, he still needs two or three members."

"And we have three, so that would mean we need at most five more heroes/heroines," Carol told him.

"Yep," Tony nodded, "and for the first time in Avengers history, we get to pick who they are. Who would be the best Avenger and why."

"We pick?" Carol wondered, and waited for Tony to nod, "okay... so I've sort of wondered, why not pick the most powerful guys we got and have them be the Avengers. Between you, me, and the Sentry, we'd already be on the road to that."

"Wouldn't work," Tony told her, "on the outside, you could argue that they could intimidate guys... but when you look at it... guys like the Red Skull... Doctor Doom... Ultron... even Hydra... they don't get scared because we show up with a team of powerhouses. And more often, they've attacked us despite having guys like Thor on our team..."

Carol slowly nodded. The guys that gave the Avengers trouble didn't back down when they showed up. Grunts that had been hired occasionally did, but the big time villain didn't.

"A great team makes use a lot of things that we don't see in the open," Tony continued, "being able to handle science sorts of things, knows the streets, is able to get in and out of places without being seen... like a ninja, and even the guys that aren't exactly 'nice'. With the right people... they'll also generate the sort of 'magic' that you can't predict. Team dynamics that you can never predict."

"The way Cap will have right of the bat with Blue team," Carol commented.

Tony sighed heavily and looked down. Cap was one of the greatest Avengers ever. Maybe not the most powerful, but certainly one of the greatest, and that is before considering what he did in World War II. Since reawakening in the modern era, just about everything Cap did revolved around the Avengers. And while the two teams would cooperate with each other, Tony knew he wouldn't be working as closely with Cap as he would have liked.

"Yeah," Tony sighed, "we got to duplicate that... beats me how we'll do it though."

"I'm sure Cap will help," Carol told him.

"Of course he will," Tony gave a weak smile, "He's Cap. He'll go out of his way to defend what is right and will do what it takes to win. Shoot... he's the reason the Registration Act failed... and as it was, it was a good thing it failed. It was being used for far more then what was needed."

Carol nodded.

"Anyway, seeing how we all work together will come after we have a team set," Tony commented, "and we have five 'new' Avengers to pick."

"Okay then... since most of the New Avengers will be on Team Blue, why don't we look at some of the best 'Classic" Avengers... like say the Wasp," Carol offered, "she can fly, she has her 'wasp stings'. She can change size. She picked up some scientific knowledge from Hank... though I think her one true love is still fashion designing."

"She could keep us all very well dressed," Tony chuckled, "Okay... now you, me, Sentry and Wasp. Four more to go."

Carol nodded, "Yeah... so with this great formula, what do we still need?"

"A 'Wolverine', a 'Thor', and a ninja," Tony answered.

"I thought you said the Sentry is your 'Thor'?" Carol questioned.

"I said he could be," Tony clarified, "he isn't there yet, but with the right guidance he could be. Could you put it to bed..."

"Fine..." Carol sighed.

That list made it tough to work with. Getting a 'Wolverine' or a ninja would be fairly simple. The greatest problem there would be making sure the personality fit with the mission. Carol had read a few reports that came into S.H.I.E.L.D. during Cap's stand against the Registration Act that seemed to indicate that the latest Baron Zemo, Helmut Zemo, had honestly gone from bad to good. And while that was a good start, Carol didn't entirely trust the idea of letting the former leader of the Masters of Evil join.

"What about Wonder Man?" Carol asked, "He's had his dark past... Zemo, the Maggia, the original Masters of Evil and all that..."

"But he came around," Tony nodded, "but even with the 'dark past', Simon would never do the sort of things that Wolverine does. He isn't dark. He's ionic."

"He'd still be a good Avenger to have," Carol countered.

"No argument there," Tony nodded, "how are things with him?"

"Simon? Things are good, why do you ask?" Carol asked back.

"Just asking," Tony answered, "So we're down to three more...

Carol nodded, and though over who could be out there that could fill the remaining roles. Thinking over some of the 'Classic Avengers' who Carol knew best, there was only one person that she figured could take on the job well. There were plenty of good candidates, but the best of them, Elektra, was supposedly dead after turning to the Hand. That left only one real candidate.

"What about the Black Widow... and not this blonde I've been hearing about in hushed whispers... the original the REAL Black Widow?" Carol asked, "She's skilled in martial arts, a master spy, and can take on the role Wolverine does... or will... with Blue Team."

"Kinda..." Tony sighed, "but I'd suppose that's the best we can do."

Carol gave him a glance at that. She'd always thought that Tony had a thing for Natasha, but then she could be wrong. There were reports of Tony taking some woman with snow white hair out here and there. Whether or not that was true though, was none of her business.

Returning to the task at hand, Carol looked a the screen that had been picturing the faces of various heroes while the names of those that they had agreed on so far were on the far left side of the screen. Natasha filled in the roles for a ninja and 'Wolverine', and that left a 'Thor'. And that was the hardest part to get. Thor was a power unlike anyone in the mortal world. True science had advanced beyond the bows and arrows that Medieval Europeans would have used on the Asgardians, but Thor was still powerful. Few ever came close to Thor's level of power.

"The only guy that ever approached Thor was Hercules," Carol sighed, "but he sided with Cap in the fight over the Registration Act."

"Hercules..." Tony commented, "he could work..."

"But..."

"Carol, his real name IS Hercules," Tony answered, "He's gone through just about every bar and club in America, flex his muscle say, 'I am Hercules, son of Zeus, and I am here to insure that every woman has a good time and that the bar's tab is paid'... and he usually got away with it... I don't want to know how many illegitimate children he has."

"Some could say the same of you," Carol commented.

"What?" Tony turned to her.

"Nothing," Carol stepped back, "So you think Hercules would do it?"

"Yeah," Tony nodded, "since his 'hero' name is the same as his real name, the teeth of the Registration Act didn't even affect him. Technically he was already registered... and the guy loves adventure. And who besides the Avengers have more adventures?"

Carol nodded, "So, you, me, Sentry, Wasp, Wonder Man, Black Widow, Hercules... and one more..."

"Getting away from some of the Classic Avengers, I was leaning more toward Arachne," Tony commented.

"Arachne?" Carol gasped, almost as loud as she had when Tony had thought of using the Sentry as one of the Avengers.

"Yes, Spider-Man's partner, Arachne," Tony nodded, "Red Team is supposed to be showing that we're doing the work to train new heroes. Having only the Sentry among a bunch of Classic Avengers won't demonstrate that we're training heroes. At best they'd say that the Sentry is a pet project. Arachne is new, and doesn't have the 'mental' problems the Sentry has. Her only 'difficulty' is that she is new."

"She just had two kids! I'd think her heroine days are over," Carol pointed out, as tactfully as she could.

To be honest, while she respected Spider-Man as a solo hero, Carol was certain that the web-slinger had no business whatsoever being on the Avengers. He talked way too much, and often joked. Carol's Air Force training taught her one thing, when you're facing an army of fanatics that are hell-bent on conquering the world, you don't dance around and joke. You hit them with everything you have and hope they don't get up. In addition, none of Spider-Man's villains were threats to the country as a whole.

The Hobgoblin, Venom, Carnage, the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, the Kingpin, and a host of others, which Carol did conceded was an impressive number of villains, were all New York City threats. None of them had the powers of Loki or Korvac. None of them had the hidden weapons caches and political machinations of Hydra. They didn't have the Cosmic Cube, or its powers the way Lukin and the Red Skull did. Shoot, some of them, like Kraven the Hunter and the Kingpin had no super powers, and yet they still gave Spider-Man a run for his money... all for small scores in comparison to the things the Avengers fought.

"I wouldn't count her out of the game entirely," Tony answered, "She became Arachne to help her husband, and I doubt he'll retire."

"But she's likely only faced some of Spider-Man's foes," Carol argued, "and had help from Spider-Man. It's pretty hard to be a good hero when all you face are nobodies who's only goal is to rob a bank."

"From what I've heard from Peter, Norman Osborn never stuck to bank robberies," Tony answered, "and when he did, it's seemed to be that the robbery was merely bait to lure Spider-Man out. And after he joined the Avengers, I took the liberty of talking with him on his foes and examining what little data S.H.I.E.L.D. had on them."

"And?" Carol wondered.

"They may all think small, but the powers they have are impressive and not to be underestimated," Tony answered, "Doctor Octopus's tentacles are fast enough and strong enough to land blows that could make the Hulk stagger for a little while. They're also impervious to heat and magnetism... meaning he can go into lava with them and not have them melt, and he could attack Magneto with four metal tentacles and have no fear that Magneto would use his magnetic powers to remove them."

That made Carol whistle as Magneto had given the X-Men, the most powerful mutants on the planet fits for years, and had even given the Avengers a hard fight a couple of times.

"Electro is a living electrical generator," Tony continued, "and in theory has the power to vaporize an opponent if he really cut lose. He carries and generates that much electrical current... and as such he is impervious to electrical attacks..."

"He could take on Thor and stand a good chance of winning," Carol gasped, "as outside of his hammer and fists, Thor's powers are electrical in nature... magically generated of course, but still electrical."

"And at the top of Spidey's rogues gallery is Norman Osborn," Tony continued, "a brilliant schemer for crime and other things. He's dabbled in everything from science to the occult. And has engineered countless schemes that had the potential to do more then just shake down New York City. And he's known Peter Parker is Spider-Man for years... it's why his first real girlfriend Gwen Stacy was killed. To get to his enemy's heart and make him do what he wanted him to do... or at least get him into a state where Peter would have made stupid mistakes."

"He's told you a lot..." Carol said.

Tony nodded, "and some of the others aren't too bad in terms of the quality of their planning. There has to be a reason the Kingpin's retained so much power in the criminal world for so long... and when MJ became Arachne, the Hobgoblin had engineered a scheme that allowed him to take on the New Avengers as a team. We won, but it was a tough fight."

"Still," Carol sighed, "wouldn't having Arachne on the team hurt the team chemistry? I mean, Janet has her whole 'no superheroes should get married/have kids' rule. Wouldn't the two of them be automatic rivals? I mean... she's married with two kids. Infants."

"True... but then they could also mutually bond on their fashion sense," Tony commented, "Shoot, I think there is a magazine out there somewhere that has Mary Jane Watson in something Janet designed... though I'm not sure... and as much as she harps on the 'no marriage' rule, she and Hank are still together as far as I can tell. Though I could be wrong."

Carol only sighed, thought over what Tony had just told her about Spider-Man's villains.

"Okay," Carol sighed, "we can give it a shot."

"Okay then," Tony sighed, "Now, all we have is invitations to make and to wait for Cap to form his team."

**Avengers Tower, Recovery Rooms**

Captain America, meanwhile was focused on a different thing for the moment. Doctor Strange's revelation that there was something other-worldly that was threatening them did give him cause for concern. Cap would gladly accept the master of mysticism as a member of the Blue team, but for the moment he had some other concerns. And that was Echo. Tony had shared the reports that he ultimately received from the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that were handling Spider-Man during the crisis with the Registration Act. Tony had had her brought back to the Avengers Tower, and so Cap was there to check on her.

The area was one that originally been part of the living space area for the Avengers in Avengers Tower, but Hill had had it converted to suit her purposes. And while Hill was no longer the Director, and Tony had even mentioned that she'd even left S.H.I.E.L.D. when the UN removed her from the role as director, that didn't mean that the agents were going to put the area back the way it was supposed to be.

"How is she?" Cap asked as he approached two guards standing outside the door.

The two guards traded glances and then answered.

"Don't really know," the first guard answered, "we've stayed out here during the sessions... the times when we've tried to go in, we've gotten attacked."

"Is the psychiatrist in?" Cap asked.

"Along with a body guard he picked up from somewhere," the second guard answered, "and things have been quiet so far..."

Cap nodded and was about to enter when the door opened to reveal a frustrated S.H.I.E.L.D. psychiatrist and Iron Fist following along behind him. The psychiatrist stopped when he saw Cap standing there.

"How are things, doctor?" Cap asked.

"Relatively well, I suppose," the psychiatrist answered with a sigh, "I think we've gotten past the brain washing part of things... but it seems that whatever the Hand did to her has done extensive damage in other ways. I'm not entirely sure we can heal all of that..."

Cap only looked down with a sigh, "I'm sure you'll try to help her... right?"

The psychiatrist nodded. Unlike the two guards he apparently didn't have the lingering loyalties to Maria Hill that some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had picked up. It was one of the things that grinded the gears of a lot of the agents like Sharon and Dum Dum Dugan. They had all served S.H.I.E.L.D. well, but they were holdovers from Fury's term as director. When Hill took over, she rapidly began to weed those that were close to Fury out, regardless of how important or whether or not they were involved in what got Fury removed. Dealing with the Hill Loyalists was Tony's problem though. And unless they actually started a fight, he'd leave Tony to sort that problem out.

As the psychiatrist began to move along he turned to Iron Fist who stood behind him.

"I thank you for your help, Mr. Fist," the psychiatrist answered, "you were quite invaluable during the early stages, but since the brainwashing portion of what the Hand did is now undone, I am afraid your services are no longer required."

Iron Fist shrugged, "No problem... besides, I doubt you would have lasted long without me."

The psychiatrist nodded and went on his way, leaving Cap and Iron Fist standing outside the door with the guards.

"How is she?" Cap asked him.

"In terms of health... she's good," Iron Fist answered with a sigh, "mentally is a different. The guy's got through brainwashing that had her loyal to the Hand... but something else went wrong... I'm not sure if its related to her deafness, some new tactic the Hand used in the voodoo that they do, or maybe even the S.H.I.E.L.D. guy's method... but it hasn't really improved the situation."

Cap moved pas the guard to look through a glass window to look in. Echo was on the bed, seemingly staring off into space.

"How does she respond?" Cap asked looking very concerned.

"Slowly," Iron Fist said nervously, "and sounds half guilt-ridden half shy. And the psychiatrist also mentioned something about some paranoia about aliens."

"Extraterrestrial or illegal?" Cap asked.

"To my knowledge?" Iron Fist commented, "Extraterrestrial."

Cap only sighed, "Do you know the time she'll take to heal?"

"Not really," Iron Fist commented, "I only heard about all of this a day or two ago when you toppled the Registration Act. I come out of hiding from S.H.I.E.L.D. to stumble onto the psychiatrist about to get his behind kicked. He noticed my K'un-L'un skills and asked if I could give him some security in his sessions with Echo here in the hopes to rehabilitate her back to her hero status. And since Luke told me you guys had to leave her in Japan... I figured I ought do what I could to help."

"What were they doing before you volunteered?" Cap inquired.

"As far as I know... a lot of restraints and tranquilizers," Iron Fist sighed, "apparently she's good enough with the various Martial Arts skills that the agents couldn't take her on without risking themselves or her."

Cap sighed and leaned against the window.

"We should have done more to make sure she would be safe," Cap sighed.

"Maybe... not much that can be done about it now," Iron Fist told him, "shoot... they don't even need me anymore."

"Do you have any plans?" Cap asked him.

"Not really, why do you ask?" Iron Fist answered.

Cap sighed and began to explain the situation the Avengers were in. How there would be two teams, one to represent the training of new heroes and another to show people that the experienced heroes didn't need to be feared. Iron Fist listened quietly to this.

"Oh man... are you actually asking me to be an Avenger?" Iron Fist asked as Cap finished.

"If you want," Cap nodded, "Luke has told me that you two both worked together as part of the first Heroes for Hire team."

"Yeah," Iron Fist gave a smile, and nodded, "Good times."

"I don't think he'd be opposed to you joining Avengers: Blue Team," Cap answered, "and you've been around for awhile. I'd show that you have the experience to deal with a lot of these situations."

"Hey, if it means hanging out with Luke and seeing that kid I've heard he has... count me in," Iron Fist answered with a smirk.

"Good to hear," Cap replied, "we'll be having the first 'team meetings' in a few hours or so, I think... if you'd like to hang around."

"Sure, I don't mind," Iron Fist nodded, "Lead the way."

They then continued through the tower until he got to the living area where many of the other Avengers were already 'mingling'. As they arrived, they ran into Tony, in his Iron Man armor, with the mask raised.

"So how are things going?" Tony asked.

"Fairly well," Cap sighed, "You have your team together?"

"I have all the invitations out, as it were," Tony nodded, "How about you? Other then those that went with you at the conference, who else will be on Blue Team?"

"Right now it looks like Iron First and Doctor Strange," Cap told him.

"Doctor Strange?" Tony wondered.

"He told me something about some sort of extra-dimensional threat," Cap answered, "and if he's right... he might be the guy to have."

"So... you, Luke, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Spiderwoman, Doctor Strange, and Iron Fist... wouldn't you still need one more?"

"Probably... though I'm not sure on who," Cap sighed, "according to the psychiatrists, Echo is not going anywhere. Not for a while anyway."

Before Tony could respond, Jarvis approached the two of them.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, sirs, but it would appear that there is an intruder at the old Avengers Mansion," Jarvis spoke.

"Come on, Cap," Tony responded as his mask slid down and his voice taking on a slight mechanical tinge as it did so, "We can deal with this before making the announcement on the overall plan."

**Avengers Mansion**

The old base of the Classic Avengers sat largely abandoned. The 'intruder' was a lone blonde haired man with a store bought bow in his hand and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back The abandoned mansion was an old home to him. After all, Clinton 'Clint' Barton was many things, and most of them linked to the Avengers. The 'Classic Avengers', the West Coast Avengers, and he also lead the Thunderbolts at one point. However, things had changed over time.

First a teammate, the Scarlet Witch, went nuts and attacked the Avengers. The attack had 'killed' him, or as he found out later, actually moved him into some 'void' between reality and non-existence. He was taken out of there by the Scarlet Witch when her brother, Quicksilver, acting out of overprotective paranoia for his sister had her remake the world where everyone got what they wanted in life. The fact that any one person had the power to do those things made Clint shudder as he made his way across the lawn.

When he returned he found things had changed in his absence. The Avengers had disbanded after the Scarlet Witch's attack on the 'classic' team and then reformed, with guys like Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and Wolverine as members. Those guys were decent heroes, but they'd never really been Avengers before. They were off fighting something related to the mutant energies that were lost in Quicksilver's actions with Wanda when he made his way to Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. He hoped to be able to track Wanda down, and he ultimately failed in that, and the Doctor explained some of the other changes that had occurred.

Some young group of teens were out their calling themselves the Young Avengers, with one of them calling herself Hawkeye and using HIS old bow. He was looking forward to settling matters with her and reclaiming his own name. And on top of it, the country's heroes nearly went to war with each other when the Red Skull appeared and used the Cosmic Cube to get the President to support him... or something like that.

He had been busy with his failed search for Wanda when all of that was going on, and now he was back and intended to settle the matters at home. The first thing was to let the Avengers know that the REAL Hawkeye was back. And that meant 'trespassing' on the ruined grounds of Avengers Mansion. Most of the security systems that Tony had installed still worked and would likely alert Tony when he tripped them. He also had a signal flare in case his first plan didn't work.

In the air and on their way, Cap and Iron Man were rocketing toward the old mansion as fast as they could. Iron Man had to slow down a little, as while Cap probably had the strength to endure it, he also knew that the human body was not built to survive the speeds his armor could attain.

"Who do you suppose it is?" Cap wondered, "The Young Avengers?"

"No, we gave them key cards for the old mansion remember?" Iron Man answered, "to give them a workout area that didn't get them in the way of one of Wolverine's bad moods..."

"From what Cassie's said to me, they'd prefer it so that Wolverine doesn't have that much influence on Speed," Cap commented.

The old Avengers Mansion had become the unofficial headquarters of the Young Avengers, even after Tony and Cap agreed to train them. Stark Enterprises didn't have the funds to rebuild the Mansion to make it anything formal, but the Young Avengers had taken a lot of the debris and constructed monuments to the Classic Avengers teams, particularly those that died in the Scarlet Witch's break down. Cap and Tony, or one of the other New Avengers from time to time used the Mansion as a meeting spot with the Young Avengers to train them and help them with things. As a result, Tony had key cards made that gave the Young Avengers access to both the Mansion and Avengers Tower. They wouldn't have set off the alarms.

"My best guess is that it's some looter," Iron Man answered, "Some one that thinks we left technology or money behind."

"We did leave things like Scott's costume there," Cap replied.

Iron Man wanted to shrug but couldn't as he was carrying Cap. As they came up on the mansion, Iron Man picked out a figure moving by a statue of the Classic Avengers as a team, including one of Iron Man's older armor designs, Cap, Thor, the Hulk, Wasp, and Giant Man. For the moment, the man was in shadows.

"There he is," Iron Man said in a low voice, "I'll come in on a low swoop and let you go... can you get him?"

"Yeah," Cap nodded, "remember we want to restrain him. Figure out why he's here."

Iron Man nodded and carried out the maneuver. He slowed down even further and let go of Cap's hands. Cap it the ground with a controlled and soft thud and then rolled to land a kick against the trespasser's chest. The blow knocked the man to ground and he landed with a hard "oufff" while Iron Man circled back around.

"Why are you trespassing here?" Cap demanded of the man as he wheezed on the ground.

As Iron Man landed, he activated a 'searchlight' that went through the reactor light on his chest. When that light came on, Cap got a good look at the intruder and gasped.

"Jeez, Cap... you didn't have to hit me that hard!" Clint Barton wheezed from the ground.

The blow had caught him by surprise and knocked the wind out of him.

"Clint..." Cap spoke slowly, to surprised to say anything else.

"It can't be," Iron Man said in a firmer tone, "Clint died with the Witch went nuts... this has to be some clown trying to soil his good name!"

"Hey! I am who I am!" Clint answered, "It's me, Hawkeye, Avengers Priority Code One-Nine-One, username: trickshot. Password: Purple Man..."

Cap blinked and turned to Iron Man.

"It matches... he... he... how is this possible?" Iron Man asked, too surprised to say anything else.

"It's a long story," Clint answered, "apparently the Witch sent me into some sort of pocket dimension or something like that, rather then actually killing me. She brought me back from there during the whole 'House of Magnus' thing."

"Where have you been since then?" Cap wondered.

"Mostly trying to find Wanda... figure out why she did all this," Clint replied, "No luck."

Cap and Iron Man both traded sighs.

"In the meantime," Clint continued, "It seems that both of you were put through the proverbial wringer."

"In a way," Iron Man answered, "Though this would best be settled back at the tower."

**Kronas Office, Moscow Russia**

"So what will this do to stop the Red Skull?" Russian President Vladimir Putin asked to the man beside him, Aleksander Lukin.

"These satellites will collect and amplify the powers of my Cosmic Cube," Lukin answered, "It will allow us to isolate the Red Skull and crush those who allied with him even without having to move soldiers. And not even the American's nuclear arsenal can stop us."

"How do you know it won't make the Red Skull more powerful?" Putin questioned.

"I've running a series of scans with my satellites, I've found that the Red Skull's power and my cube operate on different frequencies. So long as these receptors and amplifiers remain attuned to my cube's frequency, they will strengthen the range and power of my cube... and because they amplify my cube's power, he can not attack them. We'd turn the 'Red Skull Reich' into a giant prison island. He'd never be able to leave and any of his henchmen would have to go without his powers to back them up."

Putin gave a slow nod and looked at the imposing structure that was being built on the roof of Kronas Building in Moscow. Now, he personally would have preferred to keep Lukin under his control, but when he found Kronas, he did so in a region where the Russian Army couldn't easily get to without weakening other sectors of Russia's long borders and Lukin did it at a time when men like Yeltsin was still trying to get Russia onto what was essentially 'Life After the Soviet Union'. As such, Kronas became an independent country and a company all in one.

And over time, Kronas had become a leading technological company and was rapidly beginning to compete with Stark Enterprises in the United States. As its CEO and leader, Lukin had offices around the world in nearly every country. He competed with various companies in bringing advanced technology to the Third World, and as such, Putin needed Lukin as an ally, and that was even before the Red Skull's return and things related to the Cosmic Cube.

The issue at hand was who would be the leader of the 'free world', and for years it had been a monopoly of the US President. But things of late had shaken that image. The American President had record low numbers after allying with the Red Skull and put his country in such a position that even when he realized that the Red Skull had been playing him like a fiddle, there was nothing he could do. And Putin and Lukin as old KGB officers knew they had to deal with the one who had been their mortal enemy in terms of ideology. And Putin got the sense that if he could crush the Red Skull and put an end to that Nazi's menace, the world would look to Moscow for leadership rather then to Washington DC.

And Lukin was starting some operation that he claimed would isolate the Red Skull, and ultimately defeat him. And involved building something that looked like the shield projector on Endor in 'Return of the Jedi'. Lukin had built these amplifiers in every Kronas office throughout Russia and was no building the final one in Moscow.

"What is their range?" Putin asked.

"In theory, each individual amplifier has a world wide range, but if I were to take the cube to say Venezuela from here, it would take time for these amplifiers to receive the cube's signal. By building them all around the world and interconnecting them, the cube's power will be rapidly caught and amplified beyond the power levels the cube could attain on its own."

"Amazing," Putin looked up at the large dish that was being built.

"And we won't have to risk ground troops," Lukin replied, "Once the towers are constructed, they emit my cube's energy on its frequency and thus the Red Skull can not attack them directly, and he can't risk his own grunts without provoking a war, and he doesn't have the men to risk one and win."

Putin nodded, "So the move is ours."

"And it will be a winning move," Lukin answered.

**Avengers Tower**

Clint's arrival at Avengers Tower brought a great amount of surprise from all involved. Particularly among the 'classic' Avengers that Tony and Carol had chosen for Avengers: Red Team. But everyone did follow them as Tony lead Clint to the medical areas where blood samples were taken and other things were checked out.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Clint asked.

"I'm just double checking," Tony answered as he slid his mask up.

"And thinks check out," the S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor answered, "the genetic hiccups... which one misses with most standard tests... that would indicate that he is a clone are not there. If he is a clone, he's a perfect one, though from all I can see, I'm pretty sure this truly is Clint Barton, back from the dead."

"Uh..." Clint began.

"Welcome back Clint!" Wasp gave a cheer and hugged him.

He also found Wonder Man shaking his hand at the same time.

"This is all great guys, and I'd like to meet all the new Avengers, but I'd like to talk with Tony and Cap for a bit," Clint managed.

Thankfully the welcome committee left, and Clint found himself alone with Cap and Tony.

"It's good to have you back, Clint," Cap said simply.

"I'm I really back?" Clint asked, "I die... or get sent into some pocket dimension no one could get to... and I come back and find out some teenage girl is calling herself Hawkeye and is running around with MY bow and arrows."

"This is what you're concerned about?" Tony asked.

"Wouldn't you feel the same if War Machine took over your title as Iron Man? Or worse, one of your employees took on the name?"

"If it were Rhodes... I'd wish him the best of luck," Tony sighed, "With someone else I don't know."

Cap looked down, "We thought you were dead, Clint. She's good at archery and at many of the other things you are good at. And when they proved that the Young Avengers wouldn't quit trying to be heroes... Tony and I decided it was in their best interest that the New Avengers train them..."

"But..."

"And I gave Kate Bishop the name and the bow and arrows..." Cap continued his confession, "Partially because she reminded me of you in many ways."

"She reminded you of me?" Clint was now to curious to be angry.

"She stood up to him like you did in the old days," Tony gave a chuckle.

Clint saw images of himself arguing with Steve over all things how he could be a better 'Cap' then Cap was.

"She was having a hard time coming up with an appropriate name and I figured she would be the best candidate to honor you," Cap answered, "and so far she's done a good job."

"She might give you back the name and the arrows if you do things politely," Tony commented, "though you might need to help her come up with another name for her."

"Would she want Goliath?" Clint asked, "because I always preferred being Hawkeye to Goliath..."

"Don't push your luck their Clint," Tony fought the urge to laugh, "from stuff I've heard, the other Young Avengers urged her to wear a copy of your skirt and headband once. From Cassie told us, she thought the idea was lame... and even if it wasn't, Cassie is their size changing heroine... she goes by Stature."

"Taking over for her dad, eh?" Clint commented, "I'm not really looking for a fight. I thought she'd stolen the identity... but it's kinda hard to be mad you, Cap."

"She'd come up with a new name if you really want to return to it," Cap replied.

"Nah..." Clint gave a sigh, "I mean, even then there wasn't someone calling themselves Hawkeye, I've taken a different name... maybe it's time to do that again... though I'm not entirely sure what to do. I'm not real keen on taking Pym Particles again to be Goliath."

"You could fill Echo's role on Cap's team," Tony offered.

"Echo?" Clint wondered.

"A young woman who is a skilled martial artist," Cap explained, "She was with the team when the New Avengers were formed, dressed like a masked samurai in black and went by the name 'Ronin'..."

"A samurai without a master," Clint nodded.

Cap nodded, "From what we gathered, she preferred the name 'Echo' but we had to leave her in a tight spot and keeping the name 'Ronin" was pretty important... Unfortunately, the Red Skull began his attack and we were unable to go back for her. Spider-Man found her while on a mission that Maria Hill sent him on... she had been corrupted by the Hand... and while he saved her from death and the psychiatrists have broken the brainwashing... they're not fully confident about her making a full recovery."

Clint watched as Cap looked like he was disappointed in himself. There were times when he would have saw that as a sign to gloat in Cap's face, but despite all their differences, Clint did respect Cap. It was an odd sort of thing. The guy that gave Cap the most trouble within the Avengers wanted to be like the man he argued with.

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault," Clint told him, "from what I've read, if I'd blame anyone, I'd blame that Hill woman."

Tony and Cap shared slight sighs, though Clint couldn't be completely sure it was from relief.

"And you think she'd be okay with me being 'Ronin'?" Clint asked.

"I don't think so," Cap nodded, "and even if she does, she's presently in no shape to argue."

"Okay then," Clint commented, "Now you said something about teams?"

**The Next Morning**

The Stark Enterprises Building, popularly called 'Avengers Tower' since the New Avengers were formed and the Sentry's watchtower appeared on top of it, had seen many important announcements made. Partnerships that Stark Enterprises had made, or businesses that it had bought, and of course the company's long standing partnerships with the Avengers, both the Classic and New versions. And the recent issues over the Registration Act had revealed why, Tony Stark was Iron Man, one of the key Avengers.

And that revelation, plus Tony's assuming the mantle of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. would present a series of changes. Stark Enterprises/Industries, and every other sub-company that bore the name "Stark" was still owned by Tony Stark, but because of his responsibilities to the Hero community, those companies had been given to Virginia 'Pepper' Potts. That in and of itself was a victory of the 'American dream' as Pepper had originally been Tony's secretary. Now she was the acting CEO. That, however, wasn't the only reason people were flocking to a platform in front of the building.

The platform had originally been built with the idea of having a winter ice rink being constructed there, but the city rejected it half way into the construction. And what was left was a large slightly raised platform that could function as a speaker's platform. And on that morning, Tony Stark had called a press conference. The Avengers were going through their latest change, and it was time to announce Red and Blue teams to the world.

The first people to come out of Avengers Tower and approached a podium that had been set up were Iron Man and Captain America. The leaders of Red and Blue team. Iron Man would be the first to speak.

"Good morning, honored guests," Iron Man spoke, "I speak to you to announce both the plans to move things forward in relation to this country's heroes forward and to announce the new plan and line up for the Avengers."

He then paused for a moment before continuing.

"We all understand the feelings that triggered the passing of the Registration Act, but the act was too extreme and the Supreme Court viewed it as such," Iron Man spoke, "to a certain extent there is fear of those who wear masks. Either that they will deliberately cause harm and hide their identity, or there is mistrust of new heroes and the fact that masks are common, they can not be held accountable for their mistakes."

Iron Man then pressed a button on the podium and map of the United States was projected above and behind them. It was big enough to be seen by the people there and by viewers on television.

"For this reason, it would be my preference that all heroes reveal their identities to S.H.I.E.L.D. for the sake of accountability and report for duty in the Initiative, a program to put heroes in every state to protect the people that have put so much trust in us heroes over the years," Iron Man continued, "I will not force those who do not wish to do so, but I will also urge all heroes who do not wish to join the Initiative to be careful. The times are tough and things are not as they once were. Any mistake could potentially be disastrous."

Iron Man paused and glanced to Cap who stood beside him.

"But that warning is fairly obvious to all heroes who have been 'old hands' at being heroes," Iron Man said with a chuckle, "Heroes like Cap have been good at this years before the issues related to Registration came up. This country has no reason not to trust its experienced heroes. It is the inexperienced heroes where there is the greatest risk for a problem and that where the Initiative will focus."

The map then focused on an open area near Stamford, Connecticut.

"And to do that, S.H.I.E.L.D. will construct a training facility in Stamford where all new and teenage heroes can report for training," Iron Man continued, "it will not be a requirement for new heroes there to unmask as part of the Initiative, but all new and teen heroes are encouraged to go there. There, under the leadership of Hank Pym, we may be able to train all new heroes to become just as successful as those with experience. Further details on the training center will be posted online this evening."

The holographic map then went down and Cap stepped forward.

"We are also here to introduce the New Avengers line ups," Iron Man continued, "The Avengers have always been the best of the best, filled with new heroes and experienced heroes over the years. To show that we will try to train new heroes so that they become effective and good heroes on their own and to show that experienced heroes are trustworthy the team's line up has been split into two teams. Captain America will lead Avengers: Blue Team which will hold experienced heroes in whom you can trust."

Iron Man then stepped aside and let Cap take the podium. Behind him one of the doors opened.

"Avengers: Blue Team consists of eight members, all of whom are experienced heroes who have done their best to protect this city and at times the entire country, despite the slandering of those that have hated them from the start," Cap spoke clearly, "I assure you that we will do our best to do what is right..."

Cap then gestured to the door. Each member of his team came out as he announced their names.

"Avengers: Blue Team consists of: the returned Clint Barton, the team's weapons expert and taking the name Ronin," Cap announced.

Clint made his way out in the black samurai costume with gold and green accents. Wasp had wanted him to return as Hawkeye, but he had died and Cap had offered the name to the Young Avenger to honor him. And besides, he figured that even samurai used bows and arrows when they had to. Releasing his name and unmasking was also a compromise that he made between Cap and Tony.

"Serving as its martial arts expert: Iron Fist," Cap continued to introduce his team.

Iron Fist came out and stood beside Clint.

"Serving as its espionage officer: Spiderwoman."

Spiderwoman came out and slowly looked out over the crowd that was there. All of them there to see the Avengers line up being given. Cap continued to introduce his team.

"Serving as our expert on the mystical realm: Doctor Strange," Cap continued, "and serving as 'patrol officers': Spider-Man and Luke Cage."

Spider-Man slowly made his way out, noticing a mixture of 'boos' and cheers as he did so.

"And serving as our black ops officer: Wolverine," Cap finished as the Canadian X-Man and Avenger came out.

Cap then gave the podium back to Iron Man and moved to stand with the rest of Avengers: Blue Team. Iron Man then retook the podium.

"To recognize that young and untrained heroes need training, Avengers: Red Team includes two heroes in training and a team that is capable of training them for the battles they will face," Iron Man began and gestured to the door, "Serving as Avengers: Red Team tactical officers Wasp and Ms. Marvel."

Wasp and Marvel came out slowly.

"Serving as the strength and conditioning officer: Hercules."

Hercules made his way out, flexing as he did so. Iron Man tried not to notice a couple of women drooling in the front row.

"Serving as our black ops, espionage, and martial arts officer: Black Widow," Iron Man announced, "and serving in a capacity that shows that one can ALWAYS turn back from the dark path, Sentry and Wonder Man."

Both Sentry and Wonder Man made their way out.

"And last, but not least, Avengers: Red Team also includes a new heroine to show our commitment to training heroes: Arachne," Iron Man finished.

The red headed heroine, and Spider-Man's partner made her way out, and Iron Man thought he heard Spider-Man mumble something about cheers, as Arachne attracted a fair number of cheers and a few whistles as well. He let that go.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Iron Man finished as he moved to stand with the Avengers: Red Team members, "the Avengers, Teams Read and Blue. It will be our pleasure to take on any foe no hero can face alone. And it will be our pleasure to protect you, the innocent and free people of the world."

Iron Man knew the days ahead would be tough. There was this odd bank robber who had power beyond belief. Doctor Strange sensed there was some extra-dimensional threat, and the Red Skull still needed to be monitored, but for the moment, he let himself smile. The Avengers had always been the 'dream team' among heroes. The best. The heroes that did the most to protect the innocent. And Red and Blue teams would do that hard work.

**To Be Continued...**

**"We have a great objective - the light on the hill - which we aim to reach by working for the betterment of mankind not only here but anywhere we may give a helping hand."**

Joseph Benedict 'Ben' Chifley, Australian Labor Statesman, speech (June 12, 1949)


	3. First Fights

All characters appearing in Avengers and other Marvel titles are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee, and are owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. All real persons mentioned in this story belong to themselves. No infringement of these copyrights or offense to the people mentioned is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder or persons. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: This story is my sequel to "Civil War" in the Captain America section and takes place immediately after that story.

Initiative

By TVfan

**Chapter 3: First Fights**

**Hotel Room**

"Two teams," the Hood mused the bed of a relatively low cost hotel in the Bronx as the news replayed the announcement of the new Avengers lineup.

"A Red and Blue team," Whitney Frost nodded, "one lead by Captain America... the other lead by Iron Man."

The Hood nodded and then stood up and then began to pace quietly. To a certain extent, things were going quite well. He had managed to get a large number of super villains to not only side with him but to accept him as their leader. Something he never could have done as Parker Robbins. He had his SVU that would be able to put together a legion of super villains that could deal with and defeat any hero. But, the SVU was not being created to fight battles with the heroes... at least not the way old super villain teams had been organized.

Old teams, like the 'Masters of Evil' had been organized to further one man's goal of conquest. The Hood's goal was simply to rob, murder, cheat, and steal as much as he could carry. Global conquest wasn't an issue and going after superheroes wasn't on his agenda. Especially against teams like the Avengers. The SVU would probably fight its fair share of heroes, but it was the Hood's intention that any fight that occurred would occur under circumstances that favored the SVU members. One hero versus several villains... and old rivalries would have to be forgotten.

Far too many villains obsessed over a single hero or group of heroes and ended up making mistakes that got them sent to prisons. The way some of Spider-Man's villains talked about wanting to kill Spider-Man, the Hood was tempted to call them 'Spider-Stalkers'. He wasn't all that fond of the webslinger, himself, but, Hood couldn't picture mindlessly pursuing one hero for vengeance or anything along those lines as of being much use.

But some things just couldn't be talked away. His chief aide, Whitney Frost, aka Madame Masque, wanted Tony Stark/Iron Man dead. Wrecker wanted Spiderwoman dead. There were at least half a dozen who wanted Spider-Man dead. And this put the Hood and the SVU in line for a direct confrontation with both Avengers teams. The only good thing out of all of this, that the Hood could picture was that to some extent, removing Iron Man and the Avengers from the equation would cause enough chaos to allow the SVU to thrive against whoever replaced them. They might even get a chance to control their replacements. It wasn't much, but it was a hope. The Hood did accept that much.

"So, how do you think we can take them on?" Frost inquired, "Even if Stark and Cap aren't joined at the him, you got to know that they won't just stand aside and let their buddies get attacked."

The Hood nodded.

"The direct assault thing is only used by those who either have the resources to throw away troops, or believe they have such power that they can't be stopped," the Hood answered, "the key to taking on the Avengers will be to draw them out. Get them away from their tower and divide their attention. One small group does something dramatically noticeable and the other, larger group does something similar."

"And each team will investigate each incident," Frost answered, "I'd assume that the smaller group is only a decoy? That they're to essentially vanish before whichever investigating team arrives?"

"Yes," the Hood nodded, "and with my powers I will be able coordinate both things directly and help everyone get away."

"And do you have an idea on what the targets for this trap would be?" Frost wondered.

"I have an idea for one," the Hood smiled, "the other we'll need to talk with the others on. See if they've come up with anything."

"And who is the one?" Frost asked.

The Hood raised his hand and instantly a ring of fire appeared above his hand. Inside the wring was the image of one Hobbie Brown and his wife Mindy.

**Avengers Tower, S.H.I.E.L.D. Offices**

"Good afternoon, what can I do for you today?" Tony Stark said calmly as a government official, either from the State or Defense Department, made his way into the office that he was using as the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. while the Helicarrier was still undergoing repairs.

"You still don't cut much a military cloth, Stark," the man said fairly gruffly.

"You were expecting combat fatigues?" Tony asked, wondering why the man had decided to pay him a visit.

Tony had figured that most members of the government would actually prefer to stay away from him unless something happened that absolutely required their cooperation. Much of that had come from the affairs of the Registration Act. While Tony had initially supported it as a training measure for new heroes, he had disagreed with Maria Hill and the government over fighting an all out civil war with Cap over the issue, particularly with the Red Skull watching the developments closely. And that had lead to some antagonism between him and S.H.I.E.L.D. and then between him and the government. Because of that, he didn't expect any real serious contact with anyone from the government.

"Cute," the man replied, "I am here to give you the official response to your little 'Initiative' plan..."

"I'd thought it was a rather good plan," Tony commented, "S.H.I.E.L.D. will work to run training centers for new heroes. We're encouraging that all heroes register their identities with S.H.I.E.L.D. and there is the ultimate plan to put effective teams in every state in the union... as well as to offer training programs for heroes in other countries. If everything works it should practically eliminate low level crime and curtail the actions of super villains."

"That is not the government's opinion," the man replied firmly.

By that, Tony was sure the man meant the Executive Branch. Cap's legal victory over the Registration Act was being counted as part of the reason for some of the present swing in the US Congress following the 06 elections. But since the election was not a Presidential election, there was little if any change in the Executive Branch. And while the President, himself, seemed somewhat willing to let those things go... his Vice President did not.

"Oh?" Tony wondered, "and what is the government's opinion?"

"The government's opinion is that you are doing nothing to protect this country from those that threaten it," the man answered, "you are not arresting the heroes that didn't register and you are not making any sort of regulation mandatory. They don't HAVE to follow the Initiative. And we have good information that the vast bulk of America's superhumans are not joining your Initiative."

"Not every superhuman wants to be a superhero," Tony shrugged, "there are some that are irredeemable criminals and there are simply some that wish to live normal lives. You're here complaining that I'm not enforcing an act that was declared unconstitutional..."

"It was voted on and passed by the will of the US people!" the man roared.

"And if the 'US People' were all lawyers they'd realize that the law they passed was in violation of the very framework that the government is supposed to operate on," Tony replied, "and I believe Cap referred to it being in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment, outlawing slavery."

"It wasn't slavery!" the man protested angrily, "it was the way to protect this country from a multitude of threats! Most of them caused by superhumans!"

"Listen, Mr. ..." Tony began.

"Rite, Nigel Rite," the man replied.

"Listen, Mr. Rite, you have my assurances that S.H.I.E.L.D. will do its best to protect the world from those forces that threaten it," Tony answered, "You and I will probably disagree on how that is done, but I will make sure that the world is safe."

"Forget the world," Nigel Rite answered, "Only America matters. Your job is to protect the United States of America and the USA is angry at you for failing to do so!"

"You mean your boss is angry at me for not enforcing a law that was declared unconstitutional," Tony replied, "and I'm afraid you've missed something in my job description. I am the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and as such my immediate superior is the United Nations. Not the United States. My responsibility is to keep the world safe, and I assure you, I intend to do that."

"And who do you think pays for S.H.I.E.L.D., huh?" Nigel Rite answered, "The French? The cowards that surrendered to the Germans twice in twenty five years? The Communist Russians? American taxpayer dollars are the only reason S.H.I.E.L.D. exists. Most of your men are US military men. Do you honestly think that they're going to choose International Socialism over their own people? Over freedom? You will do what we tell you to do, or we will cut the funding to S.H.I.E.L.D. to nothing over night!"

"That'll be hard to do when the House of Congress that controls the government's purse has just gone to your opposing Party," Tony replied, "and if they don't... I'm sure they'll fight you even harder when they learn what sort of tactics you've employed here, Mr. Rite."

And there Tony found he finally had something that would get this guy to stop acting like some sort of emperor or dictator. And Mr. Rite knew it.

"The government is not pleased with your actions, and we will be taking legal actions within the General Assembly meetings and within the meetings of the Security Council to remove you," Nigel Rite answered, "so play your little fantasy out were bad guys like Steven Rogers threaten this country with masked men who know nothing of justice. But we will be watching you."

And with that, Nigel Rite turned to leave. By the time he got the door, he turned back to Tony and had one more thing to say.

"And we are taking appropriate steps to insure that this country is safe from morons like you," Nigel Rite finished, "starting with the pardoning of Norman Osborn and recruiting him to form a real force that will protect the United States."

And with that, he left. Tony only sighed, flopped into his chair and wondered, "why did I give up drinking?"

**Kronas Office, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada**

"And just what will these towers of yours do, Mr. Lukin?" a Canadian official questioned as he looked up at the massive satellite dish and other facilities that were being added to it.

Alexander Lukin considered his answer carefully. The Canadian official was connected to their government offices that had created the various Alpha Flight teams, and he had heard rumors that a Canadian team was being put together to replace the team that had been destroyed shortly before the Red Skull raised his island nation and set the wheels in motion for the attempted superhuman civil war in the United States. And Lukin had to remember Kronas' duel nature as company and country.

The dishes were to amplify the power of the Cosmic Cube that he wielded. Once towers were built at every Kronas office and/or facility, the cube's powers would be so amplified that he could forever contain the Red Skull on his island and to crush those that had aided the Red Skull in the Nazi's latest endeavors. But he couldn't tell the Canadian official that. He didn't want the latest Alpha Flight or whatever coming down on him... at least not until ALL of the satellite dish towers had been built. Then it wouldn't matter. But for the moment, he couldn't.

"For the most part they're to improve communication links between Kronas Offices," Lukin explained, "but they are also quite capable of doing additional tasks as well... such as transmitting television, radio, and even internet signals."

"Seems like an awfully big dish for communications," the Canadian official commented.

"If it were for purposes of mere television or calling a cousin on the telephone, maybe," Lukin gave a shrug, "but not for business. Men must multi-task and communicate with many others... many times at the same time. Things must be coordinated, and all too often other systems are too inefficient. Satellites in space go on the fritz. Clouds interfere with the signals, animals chew through the wires...these towers are not limited by such factors."

"It still looks mighty big," the Canadian official answered, "hopefully it does everything you say it does."

"It does and it will," Lukin said with a smile, "and who knows... maybe some day when our spacecraft are capable of allowing us to colonize other worlds... we might be able to truly test their range."

The Canadian official only shook that off.

"I'll be dead and buried for three hundred years before that'll happen," the Canadian official shrugged it off.

"You never know," Lukin commented, "they told Da Vinci he was crazy to think man could invent a machine that could fly."

"And none of Da Vinci's machines worked," the Canadian official shook his head, "and there would be several hundred years between Da Vinci and the Wright brothers in America."

"Well... I suppose we'll have to see how fast technology jumps forward, eh?" Lukin commented.

"I suppose," the Canadian official shrugged, "well, I suppose I'll leave you to your work. All your forms are in order to build these things in your major installations in Canada."

Lukin nodded and let the man leave. Once he was far enough away, he went inside the main building that this particular Kronas facility was part of. It wasn't a large facility, largely a shipping hub to other Kronas facilities in Canada and the northeast US, but it was large enough for the dish to built, and with it, Lukin intended to make his first real test run with the cube and these amplifiers.

As the Hood had seen the news reports of the new Avengers teams, Red and Blue, so had Lukin. And for Lukin, that fueled a lot of his own private rage. Tony Stark/Iron Man had largely did nothing to stop the Red Skull when the Nazi made his return. He became the leader of the 'pro-registration heroes' and became a S.H.I.E.L.D. stooge in serving the Nazi's plans. To Lukin there was only one thing that was to be done with Nazis and all of their vile ways... kill them... or at least arrest them. Iron Man didn't do that.

Avengers: Red Team was nothing more then a facade to hide something sinister as far as Lukin was concerned. And while he could respect Captain America's opposition to the Red Skull, Lukin also had his distrust of many other things that Captain America had come to represent. Educated in the Soviet system and 'true believer' in its doctrines, the Avengers: Blue Team was nothing more then a cover for some other form of oppression. Far too many had died for a better world, and Lukin wanted to make sure that their deaths weren't in vain.

Doing so would mean a confrontation with one of the two Avengers teams and he had to insure that everything would be ready. Kronas officers were rapidly building these amplifiers around the world and at an ever increasing pace. It wouldn't be long before all of them would be ready and he could make his next move, and he felt he needed to run some sort of test of the cube's powers before dealing with the Red Skull's lackeys or those that merely clung to ideas that to Lukin were still oppressive.

"Are we ready to take the next step?" a Kronas officer asked as Lukin approached.

"I am ready run our first real test," Lukin nodded and produced the Cosmic Cube that was in his possession from inside his coat.

"Switching on the amplifier," the Kronas officer stated.

Lukin stood by quietly as he heard several things hum to life. But after a few moments, he could feel a similar hum coming from the cube. It was a sign that the design of these amplifiers was working perfectly. They were amplifying the cube's power and it was responding to all of the amplifiers that had been built.

"It is working," Lukin said slowly, "and now... to create something that may strike down the Avengers... and perhaps in a fitting way..."

**The Bronx, NYC**

The Hood and Madame Masque entered a small bar in the Bronx. The bar was one of many that operated on a quiet understanding with various super villains. So long as they didn't trash the place, rob the bar, or injure anyone doing business there, the bar wouldn't call the police or the Avengers, regardless of which villain came in. And at present, the Hood found several members of his Union spending their take on beer.

"This won't bring down the Avengers," the Hood grumbled to himself, "Nor will bring in greater hauls."

"Yeah, but everyone enjoys a drink now and then!" the bartender spoke up, "what can I do you for, Mr. Hood... or is it just Hood that you prefer?"

"You know me?" the Hood questioned.

"Yeah," the bartender nodded, "People talk about things. Don't worry. You got no enemies here... so long as you don't rob me, harm me or anyone doing business here or anything like that. Shoot, you don't even have to worry about me reporting anything you plan here so long as you don't do those things."

"Really," the Hood said slowly, "Do you have a backroom where I can run things then? Since most of my Union appears to already be here."

"A meeting room... yeah... normally use it for parties and occasionally wakes when the Punisher offs someone," the bartender nodded.

The Hood only shrugged. He hadn't heard any news reports on the Punisher's activities since the 'Civil War', which was odd, as some mobster, murderer, rapist, and occasionally a super villain ended up on the news after being killed by the Punisher. But, the Hood wasn't about to care all that much about whether or not the Punisher was there. For the moment he had bigger fish to fry.

"Here, I'll show ya there," the bartender nodded and began to leave the bar, leaving an assistant the Hood was sure was younger then twenty one to run it.

He took a few steps before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find a purple skinned man in a business suit and an African American in fairly common cloths.

"Calvin Carr, Chemistro, and Purple Man," the Hood spoke slowly, "to what do I owe the honor?"

"A request, mostly," Purple Man answered, "S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposedly moving a 'Deathlok' unit to some lab in Queens..."

"Deathlok?" the Hood inquired.

"Yeah," Purple Man nodded, "cyborg super soldier. Well enough armed to blast away some of the most powerful guys on Earth. Could be ours if we could obtain the unit it's in and reprogram it."

"And how did you find out about this?" Madame Masque wondered.

"My brother's supposedly working on the project to either improve it or fix it," Calvin Carr answered, "part of his going straight thing."

"And he doesn't know that you've replaced him as Chemistro?" the Hood wondered.

"Not with my visits," Purple Man answered with smile, "the man is a bit pathetic, even AS Chemistro, no offense."

"None taken," Calvin Carr shrugged.

"How well is it guarded?" the Hood asked.

"Basic S.H.I.E.L.D. grunts," Calvin Carr answered, "from things on the news, Stark's been wrestling with a lot of political yahoos wanting him to pick up Maria Hill's banner and fight his buddy heroes and trying to get the Hill loyalists out of power. As a result, a cyborg that could seriously wound the Hulk being guarded by a bunch weaklings."

"And what would we do with this Deathlok?" Madame Masque wondered.

"The thing's a weapon," Calvin Carr shrugged, "point it at a target and fire. While the heroes battle it, we can go in get the money out and get out."

"We'll still need a target for it," the Hood answered, "but coming up with one might be a good idea in the idea of other possible moves in a bigger game."

Purple Man and Calvin Carr nodded.

"I will go and acquire the Deathlok then," Purple Man answered, "if we can intercept the truck before it gets to the base, getting it will be easy."

"I'll go along with him," Calvin Carr answered, "Just in case it's more heavily guarded then what my brother has said it would be."

"Madame Masque will go with you," the Hood answered, "she will help you coordinate the ambush. And if she thinks it is too dangerous for the three of you, she has the rights to call the mission off. Am I understood?"

**Avengers Tower, Gym**

Ms. Marvel was fairly impressed by what she saw. As she had expected there was a bit of rivalry between Arachne and Wasp over some things. Arachne was a married woman with twin infants to look after and was new in comparison to the rest of Avengers: Red Team, which seemed to go against Jan's personal 'no hero should have kids' rule, but Jan had actually been rather tactful in the meeting that lead to present sparing match. It was still a challenge, but one tactfully made. And that then lead to the present sparring match.

"So, how are things?" came a voice from behind her.

Carol turned to see Simon Williams, Wonder Man, coming up behind her.

"Better then, I'd thought they'd be, I suppose," Carol commented, "Hercules is pumping iron and coaching the Sentry on being a confident force for good..."

"Seduction One-oh-One, you mean," Simon chuckled.

"No, when I looked in, Herc was going on about standing up for what was right and that battles against evil are always glorious," Carol commented, "Not entirely what the Sentry needs to be lectured on since all of his problems are WITHIN him, not without... but I'd suppose if he builds confidence in his 'good' side, maybe he can then hold the 'Void' back indefinitely."

"Maybe," Simon shrugged, "and the rest?"

"Tony is arguing with big shots from Washington and Black Widow is currently going over the S.H.I.E.L.D. roster lists for him... I guess a spy's work never ends," Carol continued, "you're here with me, and we're presently watching Arachne and Wasp spar with one another."

Simon then looked over the blur of motion going through the sparing match. Wasp used her experience to great advantage and used her powers of flight at her smaller size to dodge many of Arachne's physical blows and fire her 'wasp stings' to try and disorient her. But Arachne remained a blur of motion as well. Bouncing off the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and using the fact that they were in an enclosed space to her advantage. In the process of this, Carol seemed to see that Arachne seemed to have the same uncanny ability to avoid most blows before they could even be delivered. Jan, however, didn't have this ability, and after attempting to land a sting on the small of Arachne's back, Jan found that was to her detriment.

Arachne leaped over the attack and fired a small web-ball down onto the Wasp while still in mid-air. Arachne then landed rather gracefully, while the Wasp had to return to full size to get the webbing off of her.

"You're husband's taught you an awful lot, Mrs. Parker," Jan said slowly to Arachne, "I'm not sure how well you'd do against me at my 'giant size', but I don't know how well the building will hold up to the weight I gain in attaining that size."

"Thanks," Mary Jane Watson-Parker, also known as Arachne, said slowly, removing her mask, "but I probably had a bit of an advantage in here... it's enclosed, letting me bounce around at high speed. In a more open area, I'd suppose what I did here wouldn't work as well."

"Probably not," Jan nodded, "but if this match is a sign of anything your husband's taught you... I'd say you've made excellent progress from developing super powers to using them."

Mary Jane was about to answer when the Black Widow appeared amongst the two other Red Team members that had been watching her sparring match.

"Ready, everyone?" Black Widow announced, "Something's going on!"

"What is it?" Carol asked.

"Tony told me he'd explain it on the Quinjet on the way," Black Widow answered.

"What about Blue Team?" Simon wondered.

"Cap's team is investigating something with Doctor Strange... something about this new crook..." Black Widow answered, "anyway we don't have time. Let's go."

"More training under fire," Mary Jane sighed and pulled her mask back up, "some things never change..."

"Peter took you into fights when you first got your powers?" Wasp asked her in surprise.

"Peter has no real set fighting style that would be recognized by any martial arts or school of hand to hand combat... he's mostly relied on his Spider-Sense to warn him of danger and react," Arachne answered, "I know a bit of self defense and Cap was willing to serve as a tutor for more training in that sort of regard."

"I trust Cap got through it all before the Red Skull's attack?" Wasp inquired.

"For the most part, yes, though to be honest, even without, while having powers is new for me, being confronted by super villains is not," Arachne sighed again, "villains that have learned Peter's identity have come knocking on my door far more then I'd care to have... I've been threatened by Venom. Kidnapped by the Green Goblin... though in his latest scheme I did get to shoot him...though his costume is apparently bulletproof... I even beat up the Chameleon once... though among Peter's foes, the Chameleon is not the most powerful."

"I see," Wasp said slowly.

**Queens**

"You're sure this truck is going to come along this way to this facility?" Madame Masque asked to Purple Man.

"Yes," Calvin Carr, now dressed as Chemistro, answered, "my brother told me they're coming by this exact route."

"And here it comes now," Purple Man spoke as he pointed down from the rooftop of the local gas station they had made their way to, "One truck."

Madame Masque turned to see a large transport truck driving slowly along the road. There was some other traffic, but not much, and most of it appeared to be going away from them. In some sense it would make for an easy ambush, but while Calvin Carr had proved to be somewhat better at being a super criminal then his brother, neither he nor Purple Man were strong enough to get the large S.H.I.E.L.D. transport truck to stop.

"And how do you intend to get it to stop?" Madame Masque wondered.

"A little alchemy," Chemistro gave a smile, pulled out the Alchemy Gun and fired.

The blast hit a fire hydrant near them and in front of the truck. The result was instantaneous. The hydrant was changed from steel and other assorted metals into glass. The glass hydrant was unable to stand the water pressure running in the city's pipes beneath it and it exploded, sending a geyser of water up into the air and into the street. The transport truck, came to a rapid stop, but had just enough moment to slide into flooded portion of the street. Madame Masque watched as the great truck skid sideways and twisted in the road before finally coming to a stop.

"And this is where I come in," Purple Man answered

He then moved over to the ladder that normally allowed repair men to check vents and other things kept on the roof. He then calmly walked up to the truck and then knocked on the door before the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents could get started again. The first agent opened the door slightly.

"Excuse me, sir, are you alright?" Purple Man asked him, playing the role of a concerned citizen, while also wearing a specialized mask that allowed him to hide who he really was.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the agent answered, "waterline just busted is all. We'll be started again in a moment."

"You don't look quite fine," Purple Man commented, "your hand is shaking!"

"No it's not!" the man began to protest when Purple Man made physical contact with his hand.

Normally his powers to affect the will power of an individual could be done by breathing in natural pheromones produced when the chemicals in his skin reached the air, but in the present case where there was water flying through the air, physical contact was needed for direct skin to skin absorption. And thankfully this agent and his passenger weren't wearing gloves.

"Your hands are shaking," Purple Man repeated his statement.

The agent's eyes went a bit glassy and hands began to shake. This continued quietly while Purple Man went around the truck. The passenger was so focused on the driver that he didn't notice that his 'attacker' was coming up to him and that his door was unlocked. When the Purple Man made it around, the passenger was trying to 'revive' the driver.

"Hey, Frank, snap out of it, man!" the passenger said to the driver, and hollered out toward where he thought Purple Man was, "Hey you, where are you?"

"Right here," Purple Man said quietly and gripped the passenger by the back of his neck, "you're looking rather dizzy."

The passenger immediately began to look out of it. His head and torso seemed to twist around.

"Let me help you out," Purple Man said to the passenger.

"But Frank..." the passenger spoke.

"I'll help him in a moment," Purple Man lied, "right now I'm more concerned about you."

Soon enough, both S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were seated against the wall of a building and told to wait there until some one picked them up. Meanwhile, Chemistro and Madame Masque had all climbed into the truck with Purple Man.

"So where do we go with this?" Madame Masque asked, "S.H.I.E.L.D. will surely trace this..."

"Mainstream Motors has an old warehouse in Hoboken," Chemistro said from behind the wheel, "mostly for storing old vehicles they want to overhaul and so forth. By the time they can trace it down though... you or that John guy from the meeting will have given the program to the Deathlok and we'd all be off doing something somewhere else by the time they find this thing."

"Alright," Madame Masque sighed, "let me call this in."

**The Bronx**

The Hood and John waited quietly in the main conference area of the bar that he had commandeered as his newest headquarters for the SVU. He'd mostly been looking for others to join in on the main force for his planned operation. For the moment, he had a guy who called himself Chance, the Wizard, along with the Wrecking Crew. That would give them a fairly decent number of either technically enhanced villains or magically enhanced ones in addition to the Deathlok which was supposed to be the center piece of that operation. He assumed that at least Chemistro would want in on that too, so he penciled that aside. Overall the main force would have decent numbers.

That left him and Madame Masque to the decoy force and to remove and recover the main force when they'd accomplish their mission. If things went according to plan, the Avengers would send out two teams. The key would be getting the bigger force to come after him and Madame Masque and let the smaller force wander into the bigger battle. But the Hood was confident he could do that.

All he needed now was the Deathlok to put the plan in motion. Then his cellphone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket he answered calmly.

"Yes," the Hood said slowly.

"This is Madame Masque," was the answer, "we have the Deathlok, and are in route to a warehouse in Hoboken. We're gonna need someone with computer skills or the strength to lift the tank the Deathlok is in."

Hood listened quietly and then turned to John. Even before hanging up, the Hood issued the next command.

"John, I'm gonna need you to go down to warehouse in Hoboken, they're gonna need your hacking skills there," the Hood commented, "get the Deathlok to target... the Brown Brothers Harriman and Company Bank. The New Jersey location. Not the one under the Baxter building. And tell the strike team is to go with you. Let Madame Masque know that she's to return to me as soon as you arrive."

John nodded quietly. Like Parker Robbins before he became the Hood, he'd been a small time thug, but he also knew how to hack computer codes and so forth. It had enabled him to get him, Madame Masque, and the Hood cellphones that worked at the company's expense. He listened while the Hood finished the details on the directions on where to go.

"I'll be there right away, boss," John answered with a smile.

"Just be careful," the Hood answered, "when the stuff goes down... I don't want you anywhere NEAR the fighting."

"You can trust me not to get myself into fights with the Sentry," John replied, "don't worry."

**Red Team Quinjet**

John, however, had no need to worry about facing the Sentry, as he and Avengers: Red Team had boarded the Red Team's quinjet and were already in flight toward Boston, Massachusetts. The team had found Iron Man already at the jets controls and they were flying off as soon as everyone was on board.

"Okay, Tony," Ms. Marvel reported as she strapped herself in, "What's going on?"

"It's an attack of some kind," Iron Man answered with a sigh, "some metallic humanoid is attacking the Stark Industries offices in Boston..."

"Metallic?" Wasp wondered, "would this be Ultron? Or some other robot that he's created? Or someone in a suit of armor? Like yours?"

"It could be first," Iron Man answered, "If it's the second... the armor is extremely advanced. Possibly beyond mine. But based off of the reports that I got from Stark Industries personnel who made the call and from local S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the area it looks like a naked human made of metal."

"A naked metal human, gross," Wasp answered.

"It gets worse," Iron Man told her.

"How could it be worse?" Wasp wondered.

"Well... besides either killing or wounding four people so far, it looks a lot like you," Iron Man sighed.

"This better not be Ultron," Wasp sighed.

"Do we know what it's intentions are?" Ms. Marvel asked, "Is it wanting money from you? Thinking you're still operating as Stark Industries CEO? Is it after tech? Is Pepper inspecting the site?"

"Pepper isn't at the attack site... and as to what it wants, it hasn't really said," Iron Man said with a sigh, "it's just been trashing the place."

"Sounds rather nuts if you ask me, Tony," Wonder Man commented.

Further back in the quinjet's passenger area, Arachne sat quietly listening to the discussion over things related to this attack. A naked human made of metal that happened to look like the Wasp and was attacking a Stark Industries office for no apparent reason. It sounded like a lot of the 'weird' things that Peter had put with as Spider-Man over the years, but some of it didn't stick with her. The Avengers were known for dealing with villains with grand schemes on a global scale. Some lone attacker, probably on a revenge 'kick', didn't seem to fit that category... unless it was part of something bigger that they didn't know at the moment.

"The answers to that question will probably come once we get there," she thought to herself as the quinjet flew along.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a large strong hand touched her shoulder. She turned to see that it was the demigod, Hercules.

"Is thou nervous?" Hercules asked her.

"Not really," Arachne answered, "I've seen and battled some pretty frightening things already. Even though I'm still fairly new at the hero business."

"Thou is sure thou isn't nervous?" Hercules wondered, "thou does not look like thou is eagerly looking to challenge the forces of evil."

"I'm sure," Arachne nodded, "my mission in this would be to make sure the people being threatened get away safely and that it's brought to justice for what it's done."

Hercules didn't immediately answer. Arachne guessed that he was processing the answer she had given him. She wasn't afraid and she'd fight hard if this naked metallic human attacked her, but she wasn't in the hero business to go out and fight people. She was there to protect her husband and to accept the responsibility that she had to protect common people.

"And thou will fight to do so?" Hercules wondered.

"Yes," Arachne answered, "It's kinda why I'm here. The fighting part of this just doesn't excite me to joy. I'll do it to protect the innocent, but fighting doesn't make me happy."

"I see," Hercules said slowly, "thou stands as a champion because thou feels thou must?"

Arachne nodded.

"The world always need more like thou," Hercules commented, "a champion for justice and beautiful to behold."

"Thanks," Arachne said carefully.

The demigod then ran one finger down Arachne's jaw bone, almost making her jump.

"When this is over... would thou be interested in a good drink, and a 'good time' as mortals call it?" Hercules answered.

That got Arachne's eyes to widen, which Hercules couldn't see because of her mask. He was hitting on her! They were getting ready to go into battle and he was hitting on her. True, he had quite a few things going for him, as she swore she'd seen romance novels that had used him as their model for their male character, but with her, that was unimportant. She was happily married, and it wasn't as if Peter was hard on the eyes.

"I've always been one to enjoy a 'good time'," Arachne commented, "is this event something I can bring my husband to?"

"Husband?" Hercules's attempts were stopped in their tracks.

"Yes, you've met Spider-Man along your adventures, haven't you?" Arachne asked him, "I married him well before I became Arachne."

Hercules got no time to apologize as the quinjet came to a stop.

"Okay, we're here," Iron Man announced, "Wasp... you and Arachne are to go in first through the hole in the roof that this thing made. Check for survivors and scout ahead. If you can find it... see if you can lure it out of the building and we'll try to see if we can limit the damage that will be caused by a fight."

"Right," Wasp nodded and shrank down to insect size and then buzzed toward the main exit hatch.

Arachne followed close behind and thanked Wonder Man for opening the door for them.

"Widow, Marvel, I want you two to go down to ground level and check with police and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that have already responded," Iron Man answered and then turned to Wonder Man, Hercules, and the Sentry, "the rest of us will be waiting on the roof for when Arachne and Wasp lure it out. Hopefully it isn't that strong..."

"And if it is?" the Sentry wondered.

"If it is, Marvel and Widow and join in without doing extensive damage to building," Iron Man shrugged, "and if it turns out to be a robot or some other form of machine, you can throw it into the sun."

"Okay then," the Sentry nodded.

"Let's move out, people," Iron Man finished, "Avengers, Assemble!"

Whatever had attacked the building essentially torn a large hole in the roof of the building, making it easy for Arachne and Wasp to follow its path in. From there, a scene of devastation followed.

"So, can your spider-sense tell us where something dangerous is?" Wasp asked.

"Not to track whatever this thing is," Arachne answered, "it'll warn me of danger... but only when it's coming toward me. It's what helps Spider-Man and I deal with violent criminals and so forth..."

"He's mentioned some way of tracking crooks with his spider-sense before," Wasp commented as they followed the trail of devastation that the attacker had made through the building.

"You mean his spider-tracers?" Arachne asked, "he uses his spider-sense with them to track criminals, yes, but they must be attached to the crook first..."

"Which means you'd have to have met this thing before and it got away," Wasp gave a sigh.

Arachne nodded, "all we can do for now is see where it's gone... once we're close enough... we'll either hear it or it'll hear us."

"Remember that we're not to go all out on this thing," Wasp reminded Arachne, "we're only to find it and draw it out..."

"Or get people out if there are still people in here," Arachne finished.

Wasp then buzzed in and out of a room that looked like it'd been completely trashed. The desk broke in half and the computer on the desk crushed.

"There may only be bodies in here," Wasp said nervously.

"So, Red Team is answering this call?" a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent asked as Ms. Marvel came in for a landing, and setting Black Widow down.

They had come down near one of the various road-block/barricades that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Boston Police units had put down to check on the main control of the situation. And if this naked metal human came charging out, they'd be able to slow it down for the rest of Red Team to arrive.

"Yeah, this was a S.H.I.E.L.D. call that came in, so we got first dibs," Ms. Marvel answered, "besides, Cap and Blue Team are investigating some supposed extra-dimensional criminal or something... though it wouldn't surprise me if that guy isn't involved in this, somehow."

"Has it come outside? Issued any demands?" Black Widow questioned.

"Beyond 'die organics' no," another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent answered, "it's made no demands, and it's still in there."

"What about the employees?" Ms. Marvel questioned.

"Just evacuated before you guys arrived," the first S.H.I.E.L.D. agent answered, "the last Stark employee thinks it was after something in their central computer mainframe."

"And where is that?" Ms. Marvel demanded.

"Center room on the top floor," the agent responded.

Ms. Marvel turned to Black Widow, but the former Russian spy was already on it.

"Already contracting Wasp," Black Widow told her.

Arachne and Wasp continued moving through the trail of devastation that this attacker had left behind in its rampage. Arachne was quick to take the point, and Wasp accepted this. The redheaded hero's danger sense would at least warn them ahead of time if it was coming straight for them. As they rounded a corner in the hallway and began to head for the center of the building, a small communication device buzzed in Wasp's ear.

"Yeah?" Wasp responded, and motioned for Arachne to keep going when she heard Wasp speak.

It was Black Widow who answered.

"We think we finally have information on what this thing is targeting," Black Widow spoke, "We believe it's headed for the buildings central computer system. It's in the center part of the building on the top floor!"

"We're already on our way there," Wasp answered, "we'll lead it back out and to the others."

"Roger, that," Black Widow responded and then the line went dead.

At the same time the line went dead, they began to hear the sound of something being smashed or broken into. Arachne had heard this and made her approach in more cautious manner, as since no one knew for sure how strong this thing was, they didn't want run headlong into something that could easily kill them. As they approached the door, these noises got louder and louder. Whatever that had attacked the place was still in there.

Arachne looked in to see what it was. And it was as it was described. The thing looked just like Wasp in terms of 'her' facial features and the musculature and curves of her body, yet it was covered entirely in metal. However, unlike Tony's armor, there were no joints in this metal woman. It was as if the metal was a sort of liquid metal that was hugging the 'skin' of a person rather then something that was entirely robotic. The one thing that made it unlikely that this wasn't a 'skin' was the fact that had no real hair. It's head was covered by a helmet that looked like hair and even mirrored Wasp's hairstyle. It was also trashing the computers with sharp looking clawed fingers. Liquid metals wouldn't do that. For the moment, it didn't notice them.

Arachne leaned back to the Wasp and held up three fingers and then began to count down to making a move that would let whatever this thing was know that it had been found. After lowering the last finger and making a fist, both of them moved. Arachne whirled around through the doorway and caught the thing with a webline and tugged it away from the computers. Wasp, who'd moved at the same time hit it in knee with a wasp sting which sent it to the ground.

"Wouldn't you rather chase us then punch at stuff that doesn't punch back?" Arachne taunted the thing.

"Death to all organics!" it roared and reached out extending claws from its fingers and sent metal claws into the walls around them and behind where Arachne and Wasp were.

Thankfully, Wasp's smaller size and Arachne's spider-sense allowed them to avoid being hit by that blow. And as with the plan, they began to rapidly flee the thing.

"Guess it does," Arachne quipped as she moved along, pausing only to throw up barricades of webbing that would hopefully slow the thing down, but it was fairly obvious that it was pursuing them.

On the room, Iron Man, Sentry, Hercules, and Wonder Man patiently waited Arachne and Wasp to lead attacker back out. They'd been informed by Black Widow on what this 'naked metal human' wanted or was after. Iron Man told them to remain down there just in case it stormed out at the people below rather then chasing Arachne and Wasp. However, he soon got confirmation that it was following the heroines that had been sent in to scout the building.

"You ready, Tony?" came Wasp's voice over a comm.-link.

"Ready and waiting," Iron Man answered, "Is it pursuing you?"

"Yes, and quickly," Wasp answered, "we'll be with you guys shortly and it's right behind us."

"We're on it," Iron Man replied and then said to the others, "be ready. Wasp and Arachne are leading it back out."

The others tensed and readied for combat. And Wasp had been right. A few moments later, Arachne leaped up the through the hole with Wasp flying behind her. While still in mid-air, Arachne pivoted to fire a series of webs that attempted to barricade the hole with it. Iron Man was tempted question the idea, but as Arachne landed a third form rocketed up into air, pulling the webbing out as it did so. And the figure then began to tear the webbing off it.

"It's like you coated in liquid Mercury," Iron Man said to Wasp who had flown up to where he was.

"Yeah, but I have a way better personality," Wasp answered.

"It is a female robot!" Hercules spoke.

"Yeah, but I doubt she wants a date," Arachne warned him.

"Death to all organics!" the metal woman declared and swung an arm, which seemed to transmute into a sword, down on Hercules and Arachne.

Arachne dodged the attack with a cartwheel while Hercules caught the sword as one would clap one's hands together to catch a fly.

"Ha!" the Greek demigod declared, "now, female metal thing, we do not wish to hurt thou, if thou would..."

He was cut off when the metal woman threw a punch at him with the other hand that caught him in the Adam's apple. The blow took the wind of Hercules and to Wonder Man's surprise knocked him down. The metal woman then turned to advance on Wonder Man and Sentry while Arachne was to far away and Hercules was recovering from the blow. It only made a few steps when it was hit in the shoulder by a pair of repulser rays that knocked it off the roof of the building. Iron Man rushed forward to see that the metal woman was already flying back up toward them.

"At least she's focused," Iron Man commented, as the metal woman tackled him at full speed.

"Treasonous machine!" the metal woman declared and lengthened her fingers into claws to tear Iron Man's armor apart.

At that point and in such lose proximity to the metal woman, Iron Man's scanners picked up something on the woman, like it was giving off some sort of energy field. The metal woman didn't get a chance to bring her claws down, as Wonder Man landed a flying kick to her back that sent the metal woman flying forward. Before 'she' could recover, Sentry flew forward at high speed to drive metal woman into the rooftop.

The move did not entirely fair well for him. After a few moments, he looked down to see the metal helmet shifting and the metal woman's face emerging from what should be the back of its head.

"What the..." the Sentry began.

"Die organic!" the metal woman challenged and gripped the Sentry's shoulders and channeled enough electricity into the hero that would normally kill an elephant.

The shock disoriented the Sentry and the metal woman quickly brought her legs up and sent him flying backwards and upside down away from where they were. The metal woman then got up and began to advance on Wonder Man and Iron Man who were just getting up themselves.

"Death to all organics," the metal woman stated again.

At that time, a thick wad of webbing was wrapped around the metal woman and her advance on them was slowed. The metal woman turned her head back to see that Arachne had snuck around behind her and was trying to slow her down.

"Someone blast her!" Arachne said urgently.

Iron Man quickly obliged and fired his repulser rays at the metal woman. The blast destroyed the webs that Arachne had wrapped her in, but they also sent the metal woman tumbling backward. Arachne then leaped and flipped in the air to land a feet first kick and then flip away. Watching this, Iron Man first noted some 'disorientation' in the metal woman.

"She's started to weaken," Iron Man stated.

"Wish we knew what she was..." Wasp sighed, "human in a suit or robot."

"I think it's a construct of some kind," Iron Man answered, "my sensors are getting some energy signal from it... and now it's starting to weaken."

"A construct?" Wasp wondered.

At that moment, Ms. Marvel dropped Black Widow off next to Iron Man and Wasp. Black Widow opened up on the metal woman with a machine-pistol as the metal woman tried to get up again.

"What have we missed?" Black Widow asked.

"We've figured out it's a construct made of metal that looks like... though thankfully it doesn't have any 'naughty bits'," Wasp said quickly, adding some wasp stings to Black Widow's shots.

"Forget wondering about 'naughty bits', let's take it down before it can recover," Ms. Marvel answered.

"Death to all organics!" the metal woman roared and leaped into the air, flying directly at Ms. Marvel.

As it came closer, it seemed to collect energy in its fists and then fired a blast of energy at Ms. Marvel. It carried enough raw power that the blond heroine was pushed back several feet in the air before her own powers began to rechannel the energy to her fists, which then took on a golden glow.

"That's a good trick," Ms. Marvel replied, "here's a better one."

The metal woman kept flying toward Ms. Marvel even as the blond heroine leveled a blast that carried much of metal woman's own energies back at it. That blast sent the metal woman flying back down to the rooftop and it landed hard, denting the rooftop in an inch. From there the metal woman laid still and did not move. Iron Man approached to see a sort of blue mist rising into the air.

"What is that?" Wonder Man asked.

"It's energy... what made up this thing," Iron Man said slowly, "and that's not all. It's cosmic energy."

"Cosmic energy?" Ms. Marvel asked as she landed.

"Yes," Iron Man answered, "and leaves us with one very obvious suspect."

**Hobbie Brown's Apartment**

Hobbie Brown returned to the apartment he shared with his wife Mindy after a fairly decent day at work. While his activities as the Prowler kept him fairly busy at night and in the evenings to keep the streets safe from various street level crimes and so forth, but he'd found decent work with various companies developing various gadgets for just about every form of employment. Platforms to help window cleaners, gauntlets for rock climbers or extreme sports enthusiasts. Because a lot of it was 'freelance' work, his wage was not as good as it could be, but it paid fairly well, and largely allowed him to set his own hours.

Much of this he knew was due Spider-Man's help. He considered the webslinger a good friend for all the help he'd given.

"Mindy!" Hobbie Brown called, wondering if his wife was home.

He had no answer, but he thought he'd hear some sort of weird scuffling sound from another room. Hobbie immediately began to investigate that scuffling.

"Mindy?" Hobbie called again, this time more inquisitive and trying to figure out what was going on.

Again there was no vocal answer, but the struggling sound was louder. He also heard faint sounds that sounded like someone was trying to speak, but someone was muffling the voice. Hobbie immediately rushed into the room and his eyes widened in horror as to what he found. A woman with a gold mask had gagged Mindy and was restraining her from behind while holding a gun to her head.

"Mindy!" Hobbie gasped and moved forward only to feel a weapon hit his head from behind him.

The blow knocked him to the ground. He ended up rolling over to see a man in plain clothes with a red hood and cape standing over him. The man held two separate handguns.

"Hobbie Brown," the Hood said in a low voice, "also known as the Prowler... this is what you get for messing with the affairs of people doing REAL work."

Hobbie found his head being turned to look at Mindy. As his head turned, Madame Masque's weapon fired. BLAM!

"Mindy!" Hobbie screamed in horror just before the Hood fired his own guns.

"And this will help attract the Avengers," the Hood then said with a smile.

**To Be Continued...**

**"Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained."**

Duke of Wellington, British Soldier and Statesman, in Diary of Frances (1787-1817)


	4. Confrontations

All characters appearing in Avengers and other Marvel titles are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee, and are owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. All real persons mentioned in this story belong to themselves. No infringement of these copyrights or offense to the people mentioned is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder or persons. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: This story is my sequel to "Civil War" in the Captain America section and takes place immediately after that story.

Initiative

By TVfan

**Chapter 4: Confrontations**

**Stark Industries, Boston**

"One obvious suspect?" Black Widow asked to Iron Man as they finished the battle with the strange 'metal woman' that had attacked the building.

"Yes," Iron Man answered, "The Red Skull. The metal woman was a cosmic construct. The Red Skull is the one who would most likely have launched such an attack."

"He isn't the only one the Cosmic Cube… or its power," Black Widow told him, "General Lukin was involved with the Cosmic Cube awhile back… and I think Cap said something about him having the cube presently."

Iron Man sighed and nodded.

"He's the less obvious suspect," Iron Man then sighed, "he only just started playing the role of a Super Villain when he started messing with Cap with Winter Soldier the first time."

"Winter Soldier?" Black Widow asked suddenly.

"Cap supposedly helped him overcome the Soviet brainwashing, but last I heard he is with Fury now," Iron Man answered, "why do you ask?"

"No reason," Black Widow answered.

Iron Man only shrugged, "Okay then. Since we have two suspects, this is mostly to be a bit of a recon and question mission coming up. Wasp, Wonder-Man, Hercules, and Sentry are with me. We're going to go to the Red Skull Reich and see if he has any connection to this. Ms. Marvel, Arachne, Black Widow, you're to give 'General' Lukin the same visit. The Quinjets should have the sensory equipment to analyze his cube's power…"

"To detect the frequencies they operate on?" Ms. Marvel wondered.

"Hill took most of what S.H.I.E.L.D. had on Lukin and the Cosmic Cube when she left," Iron Man gave a grumble, "We're essentially starting over from scratch. Good luck."

**Sanctum Sanctorum**

While Avengers: Red Team rushed off to deal with the attack on Stark Industries in Boston, Avengers: Blue Team was busy with trying to discover exactly what Doctor Strange had recently sensed coming into the world from some other dimension. The Sorcerer Supreme knew that whatever this threat was, it was magical and powerful. He might be able to defeat this threat if he operated alone, but something told him that the situation was different. The Avengers weren't best known for dealing with magical threats, and only Thor had any real experience with the realms that Doctor Strange dealt with. But Thor wasn't around and the threat was there.

"So, Doc, can you identify this guy?" Spider-Man asked, "Like some sort of crystal ball or abra-ca-wazo?"

"Not entirely in the way you think, Spider-Man," Doctor Strange answered, "Magic is a very complex field to study and understand… and often the forces behind it are not easy to understand."

"Can you find the guy?" Wolverine grumbled as the team walked along.

Doctor Strange's home carried somewhat of an eerie aura to it that managed to creep out the Canadian Avenger/X-Man. But then, a lot of people were creped out by the Sanctum Sanctorum, partially because they didn't understand magic.

"In a way," Doctor Strange answered, "His magic is powerful and otherworldly. So much so, that I was able to sense his arrival here on Earth."

"Do we know who it is yet?" Luke Cage wondered, more curious as to whom they would be dealing with, rather than when they'd be dealing with him. Any bad guy tended to show up eventually.

"I have my suspicions on the origins of the power that the man we're likely to be facing… but I cannot know the man," Doctor Strange answered, "Not without further information."

Doctor Strange then lead them into a fairly quiet room which carried an atmosphere intended to allow for meditation.

"Just name what you need, and we'll help," Cap said to him.

"For the moment, you need not do anything," Doctor Strange replied as he moved over to a shelf and pulled a small orb from it and then let it float in the middle of the room, "I will begin trying to find a way to identify and pinpoint where his magic is strongest. Once I am certain, we can then move to begin tracking him down. Doing this, however, is much easier to do here rather than at Avengers Tower."

"Any place that's safe for us to sit down while we wait?" Spider-Man wondered.

"The chairs are fine," Doctor Strange replied and moved to get into a meditative trance. As the Sorcerer Supreme did so, he and the orb he had picked up earlier began to hover above the floor.

**New Jersey**

Meanwhile, the Hood's scheme to get his union on the news and hopefully kill a few heroes was continuing. While the Hood and Madame Masque moved to deal with the Prowler and his wife, the other half of the team was moving toward the main Brown Brothers and Harriman & Company Bank in New Jersey. It appeared to be a fairly mighty host of villains, including the entire Wrecking Crew, the Wizard, Chance, and Chemistro. They would have the numbers to easily deal with any human police officer's interference and give S.H.I.E.L.D. a decent fight if any of them showed up. And considering the strength of some of their members, they might even be able to give some heroes a good run for their money.

But a superhero versus super villain fight wasn't the goal. The goal was to rob the bank and make off with the money. To do that, they had deployed a special weapon that they had only just stolen from S.H.I.E.L.D., and that was Deathlok. The cyborg super soldier was armed to the teeth with heavy weapons programed to serve as the real muscle for them. If the police showed up, Deathlok would blast them. If S.H.I.E.L.D. showed up, Deathlok would blast them. If the Avengers showed up, Deathlok would hold them off long enough for the strike team to make off with the money.

And the Hood had expected at least part of the Avengers to arrive. The original idea wasn't the Hood's but with Purple Man and Chemistro, and the Hood intended they be rewarded if the operation succeeded. But, there were details in the plan that they had put in to improve it, as too often, the Hood had found that bad guys would rush the bank and then try to flee as if they honestly expected to get away from the world's heroes. True the Scarlet Witch had decimated the mutant population, but there were still a large number of super powered beings out there. And that was where his trap would come in.

Avengers Red Team had already left New York on some emergency call to Boston, which would leave the Hood facing Avengers Blue Team for the moment. That made his job easier, as now he would actually split the Avengers team that he had to face. He and Madam Masque would kill the Prowler and he would unleash a sharp magical spike that would surely lure some of the Avengers to the Prowler's apartment. At the same time bank robbing crew would launch their attack on their target. The Hood would then teleport all but the Deathlok unit away at the first sign of the Avengers interfering. The Hood was sure that the plan would work and attract all the attention he needed… and at least one hero was to die.

"I don't like this hidin', we should just go in," Wrecker commented as he looked out from behind a dumpster in an alley.

"We will," Chemistro answered, "AFTER the Hood gives his signal."

Almost at that exact moment a small communicator that the Wizard had, and a holographic image of the Hood appeared.

"Are you ready?" the Hood asked.

"We are," Chemistro answered, "Your guy got the Deathlok reprogrammed and he'll take all the bullets from this fight. We're ready for whatever is to come next. Do we move?"

"Yes, the Prowler has almost arrived at his home and his beloved Mindy is already our prisoner," the Hood gave a smile, "Make your move!"

And with that the link with the Hood cut off for the moment. Chemistro then turned to the impatient Wrecking Crew.

"The signal is given," Chemistro spoke, "we can move in now. Remember, when and if the Avengers intervene, it is Deathlok that is to fight them. You are to go to the designated safe zone in the bank where the Hood will teleport us out."

"Right," Wrecker nodded, "Let's go!"

**Sanctum Sanctorum**

Doctor Strange's meditations and focusing on trying to pinpoint where the source of the strange extra-dimensional magic that he had sensed when the orb he had collected suddenly glowed with a bright violet light. At the same time, Doctor Strange's eyes shot open as if he had been shocked to his corps by something.

"You okay?" Iron Fist asked as he looked to the Sorcerer Supreme.

Strange looked as though he had seen something no one would ever want to see, while being punched by the Hulk at the exact same time, which meant he did not look good. He slowly floated back down to the floor and balanced himself against the chair that Ronin was seated in.

"You don't look good, Doc," Ronin said to him.

"He's done something," Doctor Strange said in a low voice, "Something big… I sensed not past magical actions but PRESENT ones."

"Did you get any idea about where he is?" Cap inquired.

"That is the difficult part," Doctor Strange said slowly, "The sources my magic sensed came from two separate locations. One is here in New York City and the other is in New Jersey."

"Two…" Luke Cage began.

"If astral projections were used, he could be in any number of places," Doctor Strange answered, "typically though, for a magic user, entering the plane multiple times weakens them and they lose some measure of control because they are in two parts. Whoever this villain is, he got stronger when he did so."

"Stronger?" Spider-Man gasped nervously.

Doctor Strange slowly nodded in the affirmative.

"Can you confront him, if we can get to him?" Cap asked.

"I can duplicate his move, yes," Doctor Strange answered, "but I won't be as strong because I'd be divided between two points."

"We may have to do that, anyway," Cap sighed, "If this guy is as powerful as you say, we can't just let him run wild."

Doctor Strange then nodded and rubbed his temples for a moment. He then collected the orb and moved to put it back. Once that was done, he cast a small spell that generated a map of New York and New Jersey, and enlarged it so that all of the Blue Team members could see it. There were two areas on the map that seemed to glow brighter than the rest.

"This one is a bank in New Jersey," Doctor Strange commented as he pointed to one, "and this one is private residence here in New York."

"So, a super villain with unparalleled powers in black magic is robbing banks?" Spiderwoman commented, "Doesn't that sound a bit odd? I mean, wouldn't a super villain want to conquer the world or something like that?"

"It would appear so," Doctor Strange answered.

"It's probably part of some bigger game," Captain America looked at the two points of light, showing where these events were occurring, "and the bank robbery is to accomplish something bigger."

"Perhaps to lure us out," Luke Cage commented, "trying to take out the Avengers?"

"Possibly," Cap nodded, "but unfortunately, it's not like we can ignore this."

"So, what do we do, Cap?" Ronin asked.

"Ronin, take Luke, Spider-Man, Spiderwoman, and Iron Fist to New Jersey," Cap instructed as he continued to look at the map and try to figure out what was going on, based on the information that he had available to him at the present time, "Wolverine and I will head to the Manhattan residence. Hopefully, we can stop the attack and at least get some more information on whoever this bad guy is."

"Got it, Cap," Ronin nodded.

Cap then turned to Doctor Strange.

"Doctor Strange, I will need you to act as a go between," Cap answered, "so much of this is a bit beyond what most of us have had to deal with that we'll need you around. Even if it's only an astral projection."

"Of course, Captain, but I must remind you that if either team runs into real trouble, I will not be able to fully help that group," Doctor Strange warned, "the spells to allow me to send two astral projections is that taxing… for any sorcerer."

Cap looked at the map again. There was so much about this that they didn't know about and needed to know before they could really do anything. But so far, they were only just beginning to scratch the surface of this. It also frustrated him because it would continue to distract the Avengers from other potential threats. He sincerely hoped Iron Man was doing okay on his end. As things in the world were making it clear that the decision to form two teams was necessary.

**Red Skull City, Red Skull Reich**

The flight to the capital city of the island 'nation' that the Red Skull had raised for himself took a bit of time, but not too terribly much. Even with Wasp shrunk down and in the largest compartment in his armor and holding onto Wonder Man's hand, Iron Man's armor was able to make excellent time. Sentry easily kept pace with him as well while carrying Hercules.

"So do we smite him on arrival?" Hercules wondered as they began to descend on the building that the Red Skull had created as his palace.

"For the moment, our mission is only one of information gathering," Iron Man answered, "the metal woman was created by cosmic energies like those of the Cosmic Cube. At present there are two people with that power. One is the Red Skull. The other is Alexander Lukin, and for the moment we need to find out which one of them sent the metal woman."

"I doubt the Red Skull will tell the truth," Wonder Man commented, "the Nazi's been involved in more underhanded and dirty schemes than anyone could count… and that's BEFORE World War Two ended."

Iron Man sighed as they continued. He doubted the Red Skull would give them answers, and because of the strains of the 'Civil War' that the Red Skull had provoked, S.H.I.E.L.D. was in no position to launch an invasion of the Red Skull Reich. But, he surely would give off some cosmic energy signature that his armor could detect. Iron Man felt he could then compare that signal to what the rest of Avengers: Red Team would collect with Lukin and with the signature of the metal woman. It'd give him data on the Cosmic Cube's powers that he needed since Maria Hill vanished with all the related data that S.H.I.E.L.D. had previously had.

"I'm sure," Iron Man replied, "this is mostly a scanning mission for the moment. If it turns out that he was behind the metal woman, we can get Cap's team, rally S.H.I.E.L.D., possibly get the government to forget about taking over America's superheroes for a few days and come back in force."

"Couldn't you satellites do this?" Sentry wondered.

"They might be able to… but because of their distances and relying solely on a computer system, it'd be easier for him to fool them," Iron Man gave a defeated sigh, "Stark Tech and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tech is great… but from everything Cap has told me, the Cosmic Cube is on a whole other level. It's why we need to do this in person. We're doing this all together to present a force that will hopefully prevent him from deciding to just blast us and forget about it."

"He might just do that, anyway," Wasp commented from inside the compartment inside Iron Man's armor, where she was protected from the winds caused by the high speed travel they had been using.

"Let him try!" Hercules said confidently, "We'll smite him and smite him good."

Iron Man only shook his head. If the Greek demigod lacked anything, it certainly wasn't confidence.

As they came in for a landing, Iron Man was quick to notice that their arrival had not gone unnoticed. The Red Skull had actually come out to greet them. He was dressed a military dress uniform and presented some image that he wasn't going to fight, but Iron Man knew well enough to be wary. He had used his powers to create robots that resembled his early costumes and probably also stashed hidden weapons in the palace that he had made for himself. The man wasn't helpless in any sense of the word.

"Welcome… I suppose it is Director Iron Man now, isn't it?" the Red Skull gave an almost taunting smirk, "what inspires your invasion of my country today?"

"As much as I'd like to arrest you for every crime under the sun," Iron Man almost growled back as he opened the compartment that Wasp was in, "I am merely here to ask you a few questions."

"And that requires bringing a force that could potentially give me a good run for my money?" the Red Skull commented.

"Would you have let me land alone without having to fight through the robots you've created to resemble MY early armors?" Iron Man questioned as he silently activated his scanning equipment.

"Probably not," the Red Skull smiled, "but then we're both in positions where we can do much…"

"We know thou launched the attack on Stamford!" Hercules pointed an accusing finger at him.

"What you have isn't a justifiable case for war," the Red Skull answered, "and besides, you're too busy fighting terrorists at present, am I incorrect there?"

"The WORLD'S heroes will always stand up against you," Wasp answered, "So tell us why you attacked Stark Industries!"

"I never did," the Red Skull answered, "if anything, I'd actually try to rob it for a good weapon. A good rule of conquest, Wasp, is to never destroy that which you can use to your own advantage."

"So you did send the metal woman?!" Wonder Man accused.

"Ah… the first battle Red Team has had to face," the Red Skull commented, "I must admit that I was not behind that attack."

"He's playing some sort of game," Iron Man thought for a moment, "trying to set us up… or get ready for his next move against Cap."

"Then who was?" Sentry questioned, "Was it Lukin?"

The Red Skull turned and glanced at the gathered Red Team members of the Avengers and then turned. As he did so, simply stated, "Come with me."

"What do we do?" Wasp asked to Iron Man, "he'll surely attack us if we go in."

"My scanners aren't done collecting data, yet," Iron Man replied as softly as he could, "we'll have to… but keep your eyes open, everyone. Even if he doesn't attack us, I want to know as much as we can about whatever weapons he has."

The others nodded and they began to follow Hitler's former bellboy into his fortress. Much of the interior looked like what would find in most major government residencies around the world, though it did carry a heavy Germanic edge to it, and the fact that swastikas were in almost every portion of the décor creped all the Avengers out. But this mission was to gain information, and they would do just that. If necessary, Sentry and Hercules would bring the Skull's fortress down while the rest escaped.

"I have seen the news reports on the attack on Boston, Director Iron Man… or maybe its Director Stark," the Red Skull mused, "you do have my condolences for any of your employees that might have been hurt in the attack."

"I don't need condolences from you," Iron Man answered.

"Nevertheless, you have them," the Red Skull taunted, "but I'm sure you're not here for that… and as your team mates have accused me… you believe I launched the attack."

"The metal woman was made of cosmic energy!" Wasp pointed out, "Only you or Lukin could have done it. We want to make sure…"

"And of course to gather information about my Reich to warn the Captain of, I'm sure," the Red Skull replied, "but you are correct in assuming that it could be either I or General Lukin behind such an attack. After all, he has the Cosmic Cube that enabled me to return with the near godlike powers I have now."

The Red Skull then came to a door lock system that looked far more advanced and pressed his palm to it. It 'read' his palm and a large sliding door then opened. The Skull then lead them into a much more futuristic type room with computers and other pieces of intelligence gathering equipment lining the room. There were also a handful of televisions on, turned on to various news channels.

"The attack on Boston was made by General Lukin," the Red Skull the announced as several of the computers came to life and began to display images of Lukin, his biography, his work for the KGB, his dealings with other super villains, and his work behind the scenes to use Winter Soldier to steal the Cosmic Cube. "And Director Stark, if your scanners are set to the right frequency, you can easily tell what things are generated by the Cosmic Cube that Lukin has, or by my powers."

"And you know the frequencies?" Iron Man asked.

"Of course," the Red Skull replied, "my power and Lukin's cube are both intricately connected for the time being. I can sense his Cube and he, through the Cube, can sense my power… but because we are separate beings, my powers and his cube operate on different frequencies."

The Red Skull then pressed a series of keys that brought up two sets of frequency lines on one of the main screens. Iron Man was quick to see that one of the frequency lines matched what his scanners were presently picking up, though hadn't yet had time to run what his scanners were picking up against the energy signature the metal woman gave off.

"This is the frequency that my powers operate on," the Red Skull explained as he pointed to one of the two screens. He then pointed to the other, "This is the frequency that Lukin's cube operates on."

The Skull's information matched what Iron Man's scanners were detecting. He wasn't lying, which only raised further questions. Iron Man was privately sure that he was being duped into something, but knew that there were a lot of things that were progressing in ways that would make arresting the Red Skull impossible in the short term. The attack in Boston had made the news, and could be seen as an act of war. For the success of the Initiative Program that he was launching, Iron Man needed to deal with the culprit behind the attack on Boston. Not wage war with the Red Skull, no matter how much the Skull deserved to be hung.

"I see," Iron Man spoke slowly and in a tone that made it clear that he was somewhat frustrated.

"Hopefully, this helps you," the Red Skull gave really fake smile.

"And how do we know you aren't lying through your teeth and you were behind the attack in Boston?" Wasp demanded.

"All you have is my word," the Red Skull replied.

"He isn't lying with regard to the frequencies," Iron Man answered, "which could very well mean, that Lukin was responsible for the attack in Boston."

"That then creates the question… why help us?" Wonder Man questioned, knowing that the Red Skull and the original Baron Zemo had worked together extensively in World War II.

"Some of it would be politics," the Red Skull answered, "Lukin is at his heart a Communist. As such he is my enemy for that… and then there are personal reasons that I'd rather not share. But to keep things short, let us just say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

**New York, Hobbie Brown's Apartment**

"This is the apartment?" Cap asked to Doctor Strange's astral image as his part of Blue Team arrived at the apartment.

"Yes," Doctor Strange nodded, "the pulse of magic that I felt came from here."

"What sort of magic? What the neighbors heard were gunshots," came the voice of the building's super, who had met them on arrival, expecting them to be the police.

"Dark magic, sir," Doctor Strange answered, "things you will not wish to be involved in."

"You'd best stand back and let us investigate this further," Cap then added, "for your own safety."

"Sure… here is a key to the apartment, though," the super spoke and then handed the key to Cap before moving off.

"Can we get a move on?" Wolverine grumbled from where he was, "we're missin' out on the action… and I'd bet whoever this bad guy is, he is where the trouble is still ongoing."

"We don't know that for sure," Cap answered firmly, "and who knows, they might have left a trail you can follow."

Wolverine did accept that. He had caught a fairly strange scent on the way in, but for the moment dismissed it as something that would be fairly common in lower quality New York apartment. For all he knew, the scent he had could be the victim's scent. So, he stood by while Cap opened the door and began to step in.

What they entered was a wrecked apartment. Photographs were smashed and ruined, as if deliberately smashed and tossed about. Cap glanced at them to see a young African American couple. Doctor Strange also noticed several magically generated scorch marks, as if there had been a battle here. Wolverine was also quick to pick up four scents, two male and two female. Both male scents had entered into the apartment the 'normal' way, but the second female scent just appeared. They then continued on for the moment until they came along until they came into the living room of the apartment where the worst was found.

The man and the woman were both dead, shot through the back of the head in an execution style. In many ways, it reminded Cap of scenes from the war with prisoners executed by the Axis powers. Wolverine could see that as well, but also saw it in some of the gang warfare that had used it to try and blackmail lesser crook's families to get them to follow the bigger families. Doctor Strange had to admit that the non-magical behavior wasn't that familiar to him, but he did pick up on the magical trail that ended in the room, and also left a very obvious message in the room.

The words, "the Prowler of just and proper business shall stalk the REAL heroes no more. And any hero that dares to interfere with business as the Prowler did shall meet the same end!" was written into the ceiling with very dark feeling sorcery.

"This was a gang killing," Cap said slowly, "and a symbol."

"And a warning," Wolverine added, "we were intended to find this. Which means whoever did this ain't here."

Cap nodded and looked down on the bodies that had been murdered by the Hood.

"Can you identify who they are?" Cap asked.

"Not without getting a scent that I already know to compare their scent with," Wolverine sighed, "I can tell you though, that their scent is not the scent of the two attackers though.

"So these two are victims," Cap sighed to which Wolverine nodded.

"Can you track one of the two attackers' scents?" Cap then asked the Canadian Avenger.

"I can track the male scent," Wolverine responded, "You want me to?"

"You want me to?" Wolverine questioned.

Cap nodded, "but be careful. And let us know where you are frequently and don't let yourself get caught."

Wolverine nodded and turned to head out of the apartment. He'd follow the male scent as far as he could. Cap meanwhile turned back to Doctor Strange who was surveying the scene.

"We'd best make our way to the others," Cap told him, "you can like your astral projections and be on a bit stronger footing."

"It's strange," Doctor Strange commented, "he wields power on a level that is quite hard to attain… possibly even far greater than my own… but his method of execution is a single gunshot. Something any THUG would do."

"Maybe he is only a common thug," Cap sighed.

"Maybe," Doctor Strange nodded, "but that makes him all the more dangerous. Because if he's only a common thug, it means he probably knows NOTHING about what he's dealing with."

Cap only responded with a frustrated groan.

**New Jersey**

The Hood's own astral form enjoyed watching the carnage that was going outside the bank. He was using the powers that he had to observe the events that were going on outside where he was, which was an interior part of the bank. The Deathlok unit had begun the attack by blowing a massive hole in the front of the bank with a rocket and the Wrecking Crew followed, smashing the bank safe open. Chemistro and the Wizard using their weapons dealt with the guards inside the bank, and now they were bringing huge bags of money to the Hood's feet. Outside, the Deathlok was holding off the police easily, which were keeping their distance and making frantic calls for some superhero.

"We have a Quinjet coming in, Hood," came Madame Masque's voice as she entered the room, "can't tell if it's Red or Blue team, but it'd still be the Avengers."

"Then it's time for the Deathlok to do what we stole him to do," the Hood answered, "Get everyone back here."

"Right," Madame Masque answered and rushed out. The others were collecting the last of the loot, and it would be, as they couldn't stay and fight the Avengers now. At least not all of them and really expect to win.

Ronin piloted the Quinjet in toward the bank that was being robbed, and he rapidly found it to be a war zone. There were wrecked cars, pieces of debris, and all sorts of carnage. At the center of it was a lone Deathlok unit.

"And I'd thought Deathlok was supposed to be a good guy," Ronin grumbled to himself as he brought the Quinjet in for a landing.

Once down he took over as 'team leader,' something he hadn't really been able to do since leading the Thunderbolts when they'd decided to really switch from bad to good.

"Spider-Man, Spiderwoman, you two are the most agile," Ronin spoke, "I need the two of you to keep him distracted and try to get his guns away."

"I am quite agile as well, Ronin," Iron Fist told him.

"I'm sure," Ronin answered, "But this is going to be a multi-part mission. Doctor Strange sensed magic coming from this attack, and while we have an astral projection of the Doc, he's said it isn't as powerful as he normally would because he also has one with Cap. You're the only other one with any 'mystical' level training to confront this leader if he decides to come out and fight."

"And until that happens?" Luke Cage wondered.

"We try to keep Deathlok from doing more damage than he's already done," Ronin answered, "let's go!"

They moved out quickly with Spiderwoman taking to the air and Spider-Man leaping towards the already damaged bank. The intention was to draw fire away from the police and keep the regular officers safe. That would allow them to rush the Deathlok and hopefully deactivate the robot/android/cyborg before it could do any further damage. As the two spider-themed Avengers either flew or swung about the battlefield, they did succeed in drawing a lot of fire. Spider-Man was thankfully saved by his spider-sense and the urban area with light poles and power lines, neighboring buildings gave him plenty to bounce off of and change direction on short notice.

Spiderwoman could fly higher to avoid being an easy target, though after one laser blast singed off a few hairs, she knew that this would be tough. She fired a few venom blasts down on Deathlok to get it to take cover, which it did behind an armored car that it'd already taken cover behind. Meanwhile, some of the officers approached Ronin and the others as they moved to get into a position where they could move when Spider-Man or Spiderwoman disarmed the Deathlok.

"We were expecting Iron Man's team, but you've arrived just in time, I suppose," one officer spoke, "Where is Captain America?"

"He's presently dealing with another crisis that we believe is connected to this," Ronin answered, "Is there anyone else in the bank, or Deathlok it?"

"The Wrecking Crew, Wizard, and Chemistro are also in there," the policemen answered, "though none of them have come out to fight. You're sure you can fight this guy without further blowing up our town?"

Ronin glanced to see that the man was following Spider-Man with his eyes.

"Yes," Ronin answered, "we are all good heroes. Regardless of opinions… we will do our best to protect you."

"You'd best clear out to where you can put some distance between yourselves and Deathlok," Luke Cage advised, "We'll work to get them all down as quickly as we can… but it'd be best that you not be close by. It's probably a miracle you haven't suffered one hundred percent casualties containing that thing."

Inside the bank, Wrecker had found a window to watch the action as the Avengers took on the Deathlok. He was presently firing on Spider-Man and Spiderwoman, and he wanted to see the Deathlok waste the female hero for tricking him with her pheromone powers in their last encounter.

"Yeah!" the Wrecker cheered, "smash her good! Shoot her up!"

"It is time to go," came Madame Masque's voice from behind him.

"In a moment, I want to see the Deathlok waste Spiderwoman!" the Wrecker answered.

"Those are not the Hood's orders," Madame Masque answered, "It would appear that they've brought most of Blue team on this mission. They could very well win, and then come after you. And the Hood won't be busting you out of jail if you do something stupid."

The Wrecker turned and glared at her.

"Besides, if Spiderwoman is killed, it'll make the national news," Madame Masque answered, "You'll be able to see her death on some of the cable news channels. Now, come along."

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

The offices didn't carry the obvious wealth of Stark Tower, but they took up more land and allowed for a wider array of resources. And now the last power amplifier was being put in place. With it Lukin knew that his cube would now be more than enough to hold the Red Skull on his island forever. He'd win the war without ever having to fire a shot. He'd also be able to punish those who should have stepped forward and saw to the defeat and destruction of the Red Skull Reich from the moment it was created. The Metal Woman had been a great success and the attack on Stark Industries had actually helped his stocks.

"More with which to save this world from those that have truly done wrong," Lukin said as he looked out to seeing the crews placing the finishing touches on the power amplifier.

His thoughts were disrupted by a knock at his door. He turned to see one of his security men, who functioned as Kronas' army standing there, looking a little nervous.

"We have a Quinjet coming in, sir," he reported, "they've contacted us on an S.H.I.E.L.D. frequency and demand you speak with them when they arrive."

"And who is the 'they'?" Lukin questioned.

"The Avengers, sir," the man answered, "Specifically to Ms. Marvel, Stark's XO, I believe."

"Another who's forgotten the lessons of history," Lukin mused.

"Shall we shoot them down, sir?" the man wondered.

"No, allow them to land and come in," Lukin answered, "they're probably investigating the Metal Woman… but I'm sure the cube's powers can easily make them see things MY way."

On board the Red Team Quinjet, Ms. Marvel calmly waited for a response over the radio. This was a recon mission for the most part and not even intended to be a fight. They were trying to piece things together from the Metal Woman's attack in Boston. They had originally tried the Kronas offices in Canada, but Lukin had apparently left those sites before the Boston attack even began. So, now they were trying the New York office.

"You may land on the north pad, and your team will be escorted to the main conference room," a voice then spoke over the radio, "General Lukin is most eager to speak with you."

"Bet he is," Black Widow grumbled after the line went dead.

"Huh?" Ms. Marvel wondered, catching some disgruntlement on Natasha's part.

"Lukin was the protégée of the man who originally ran the Winter Soldier Program in the Soviet Union," Black Widow answered.

"Winter Soldier…?" Arachne blinked from her seat.

"In the last days of the war, Captain America and his sidekick, Bucky, raided a base run by Baron Zemo, from which Zemo threatened to launch a powerful attack on the US," Black Widow began.

"Everyone knows that," Arachne commented, "It's how Cap made into the modern era to fight alongside the Avengers."

"Yes, but the presumption that Bucky died is false," Black Widow answered, "a Soviet submarine, already beginning Cold War actions, intending be ready for the 'great revolution' recovered Bucky's body and took it aboard. He was brainwashed and rehabilitated to serve the Soviet Union and from behind the scenes served as Winter Soldier… though they soon found that their brainwashing was only partial and that things kept coming back for him. The end result is that he was placed in stasis…"

"Cap managed to free him, as far as we all know, though, so he's 'Bucky' again," Ms. Marvel added.

"I doubt things will be same for him though," Arachne commented.

Black Widow nodded. The new heroine was right there.

"How do you know him?" Ms. Marvel asked.

"I met him a couple of times while I was in training and he was out of containment for either brainwashing or being sent on a mission," Black Widow answered, "and thus, I saw who his chief commander was. Lukin was his protégée… and he wasn't that great a man."

"Thus why you defected," Ms. Marvel stated.

Black Widow again nodded. The three then got ready they came in for a landing. They expected some sort of attack, but couldn't be sure about it yet.

"Shouldn't we call Cap in?" Arachne wondered as they made their way down the ramp, "he's more familiar with the Cosmic Cube that anyone."

"According to all the police scanners, he's investigating some bank robbery in Jersey at the moment," Ms. Marvel sighed, "for the moment, we're on our own."

**New Jersey**

The battle against the Deathlok was not going as well as could be hoped. Spider-Man and Spiderwoman did provide enough of a distraction that the others were able to get in and land a few blows, but so far none were enough to take the robot down.

"That thing is quite skilled," Iron Fist commented, "even while distracted; it has managed to counter the best of my moves. I've only landed glancing blows."

"Perhaps we ought to rush it," Luke Cage commented, "it can't counter all of us simultaneously. And Spider-Man has reported that he thinks the thing has lowered the power settings."

"Only to fire more rounds," Ronin answered, "we must stick the plan. Deathlok isn't entirely a machine. He can tire."

"If I may…" came Doctor Strange's voice as the astral projection that had come with Ronin's portion of Avengers: Blue Team, "it would appear most that Deathlok is guarding the entrance to the bank…"

"The crooks have likely fled by now," Ronin answered, "making sure that Deathlok can't kill anyone is the important thing."

"Of course," Doctor Strange nodded, "but notice that it's still guarding the entrance to the bank. The other thieves may have left, but Deathlok doesn't know that."

Ronin then saw his opportunity. If Deathlok was fully assigned to protect the bank from superheroes, his programming may not allow for him to know that his fellows had split.

"Spider-Man! Spiderwoman! Try to get into the bank! We'll take care of the Deathlok!" Ronin called to them, hoping the Deathlok wasn't smart enough to recognize an obvious trick.

"As if being a target wasn't fun enough, now we gotta slip past him," Spider-Man silently mumbled to himself and began a sort of charge.

He bounced off the sides of wrecked cars and swung around a bronze statue that had been outside the bank. He drew fire as he did so, but the closest shot to hitting him only hit his webline after he had swung and no longer needed it.

"Hey drone boy, can't hit me!" Spider-Man taunted as he used his webline to hurl himself at Deathlok.

He landed double key to Deathlok's chest and then bounced off to head into the bank. Deathlok managed to recover and had turned to fire on Spider-Man when he was hit in the back by an energy blast. Deathlok turned to take another venom blast to the chest from Spiderwoman as she flew over him. The blast made the Deathlok stagger a little.

"Come on, big boy," Spiderwoman encouraged the cyborg to pursue.

Deathlok managed to recover, and turned to fire on Spiderwoman and then pursue Spider-Man into the bank. The other Blue Team Avengers saw their chance to end the fight then and there.

"Now," Ronin said silently to Iron Fist and rushed forward.

Iron Fist nodded and joined Ronin in rushing toward the cyborg. Hopefully its programming made sure it would ignore the coming attack. It didn't turn and fired a few rounds into the bank. Ronin was the first to reach the Deathlok and brought his katana down in a strong downward ark. The blow sent a shower of sparks everywhere, but the cyborg had lost the arm and the weapon it had been using fell to the ground, harmless. Deathlok turned his head to glare at Ronin, but was unable to turn and fire at close range, as Iron Fist arrived on the other side to land a firm and direct punch that shattered the other cybernetic arm. That gun also fell to the ground without doing any damage.

"Your rampage ends here," Iron Fist told the cyborg and then added a spinning kick to the Deathlok's chest.

That kick sent the cyborg stumbling back, and it would have fallen over if it hadn't been hit in the head by Luke Cage. The African American Avenger's blow was enough to short circuit the Deathlok's brain and it was soon down for the count.

"So this is a Deathlok?" Luke Cage then mused, "You know, this wasn't that bad…"

"Wish we could have had time to actually save some of the money they stole though," Ronin commented, "This guy took up all of our attention and let them get away."

"Better that then letting this guy go nuts and chase the robbers," said one of the policemen as he came up from where they'd been establishing a perimeter and letting the Avengers fight the Deathlok, "surely they've left clues behind… and if not, maybe Doctor Strange's asteroid body can find them…"

"Astral," Doctor Strange answered, "and once my other projection arrives, I can begin doing that."

"Cap find out anything?" Spider-Man wondered.

"I'll let him say that when he arrives," Doctor Strange answered.

Cap arrived shortly after with the real Doctor Strange who rapidly absorbed the astral projection of himself.

"We stopped the Deathlok, which appeared to be their main weapon," Ronin reported, "but it took all of us, and the crooks got away with the money."

"Anyone hurt?" Cap asked.

"Fewer than expected given the force that attacked the bank," the lead police officer answered, "never really much of a fan of Registration, and you guys proved you don't need the government over your shoulder… even Spider-Man."

"Good," Cap gave a small smile, "we'll try to recover what they stole as best we can."

"I'd wonder what all this was for, though," Spiderwoman commented as she approached, "I mean… Deathlok is armed to take on armies by himself. Why use him as a guard the crooks in a bank robbery. It seems rather 'low' for a super villain."

"Maybe, but I think this foe is not a typical super villain," Cap sighed.

"What is he, then?" Luke Cage wondered, "A thug?"

"That is what Doctor Strange and I were able to piece together from the other crime scene," Cap nodded, "this guy is nothing more than a common thug who's been granted great power."

"What happened at the apartment, Cap?" Spider-Man wondered.

"He killed the man we believe to have been the Prowler and his wife," Cap said slowly.

"Hobbie?" Spider-Man gasped.

"You know him?" Ronin asked.

"He's helped me with some things here and there," Spider-Man answered, "but Hobbie Brown's only dealt with common criminals for the most part. Muggers, common thieves, that sort of thing."

"And now a thug has gained the power to take revenge," Iron Fist surmised, "Captain, what is to stop him from targeting someone a bit more powerful than the Prowler?"

"Until we can find him, not much," Cap sighed, "best to at least send out a warning that we have a super powered thug out to murder heroes. Hopefully, Wolverine can find something worth finding out about where this guy."

**New York City**

Parker Robbins, the Hood, meanwhile, sat quietly in his apartment. It wasn't much, but then if he was living in the Ritz, that'd attract more attention. And he didn't need that until after the heroes toed his line. So far, his operation was going according to plan. True it was Blue Team investigating his actions, but dead heroes were dead heroes. And the battle wouldn't be the one sided affairs where the heroes ganged up on one guy. The battle he expected would be one on one. He expected the fight be between him and one hero, who was likely investigating the murder of Hobbie Brown and his wife. Considering that it was Blue Team, he hoped the lone hero was Cap. The rest of the Blue Avengers would lose their leader and any real organization, and he would leave a clear warning to any other heroes out there. And if the heroes continued to interfere with business and the prosperity of the SVU, he'd simply repeat the tactics of today. Launch two simultaneous attacks and permanently deal with at least one unsuspecting hero. But for now, all he could do was wait. While he did so, an astral projection of himself saw to the dividing of the take from the Federal Reserve Bank they had just hit. Calvin Carr, Chemistro, got a bonus for finding the Deathlok that got them the haul, but the rest was to be divided amongst the entire SVU, even among those that didn't participate in the hit.

"It's for the good of everyone," the Robbins sighed as he thought over some of the protests that the Wrecking Crew had had with that, "upgrading tech is hard… especially when one is on the 'lamb' and that will affect all of us. Making sure everyone gets a cut makes sure that everyone thrives and works together…"

The Robbins knew this to be true. It'd mean a big change for many super-villains who typically operated by themselves, but they also typically got caught by heroes or had to settle for scores much lower than what they had stolen. The cooperation and planning that had won today for the SVU would only strengthen them with new members from those that didn't initially join, or didn't know about it, and with that, they'd make progressively bigger scores and forge more contacts. But that would take time, and he still had an appointment with a hero to finish. He got up from counting his part of the take when he heard his phone ringing.

Wolverine meanwhile wasn't too surprised to find himself in one of the city's poorer neighborhoods. The present suspicion was that the man masterminding these attacks was a common thug who had found power; such places were the places to check first. They may have admired the images of power that the wealthy generated, but they were still the lowest of the low in society. Punks that felt they deserved more than what they would work for… that their 'power' gave them the right of robbing, murdering, and stealing. Wolverine had seen that all before time and time again, and it was a system that generally hurt good and honest people.

He did his best to stay inconspicuous as he continued to follow the scent of the male that had murdered 'the Prowler' as the killer's message indicated. The guy supposedly wielded great power in magic, which would likely mean that an all-out brawl wouldn't work. The thug might find some magic that could take even him out, if only for a short while. Surprise and speed would allow him to get close and grab the guy before he could do anything. And he moved silently, allowing him to hear conversation coming in from inside the apartment that the scent lead him to.

"So the Avengers did trash the Deathlok?" Robbins inquired.

"Yeah," came John's voice on the other end the phone 'line,' "they didn't destroy it and its back on its way to S.H.I.E.L.D. but we won't get another shot at stealing it."

"It's served its purpose," Robbins guessed, "we got a huge score and got away with it. Something no other villain's really ever done… not that I know of, anyway."

"You sure you don't want help with Cap?" John asked, "I can easily make a call for you to have back up."

"I don't need it," Robbins replied, "the stupid flag waiver will be dead shortly after his arrival. Guaranteed!"

The door then shattered behind him, sending splinters that sent his phone flying from his grasp. Robbins turned and grabbed his hood to see Wolverine enter.

"Good thing I ain't a flag waiver, then eh?" Wolverine growled, "You're the coward that murdered a good man and robbed a bank. Different face, different actions, same stupid greed, same stupid ego, same stupid thoughts…"

The Hood only vanished from view, as if to try and escape. He quickly found this didn't help him, as Wolverine's sense of smell was strong enough to pin down his location, and Wolverine quickly tackled him from behind and moved to pin the Hood down.

"Goin' invisible doesn't work with me," Wolverine growled, "now give up and tell me where the money is. You and your gang are going to give it ALL back."

The Hood became visible again, only to reveal that going invisible was done to give him time to arm himself. He rolled over and pushed two powerful automatic pistols into Wolverine's chest.

"I didn't keep all of it," the Hood answered, "crime is changing hero boy. We're finally going to show you all just how weak you are and how the entire world should be run. With US runnin' it!"

"Yeah…"

The Hood didn't give Wolverine the time to answer completely as he emptied his guns into the mutant's chest, knocking Wolverine off of him. He then raised one leg to kick Wolverine back into another wall nearby.

"Stupid mutant," the Hood grumbled, "with the Witch or the Friends of Humanity HAD killed you all… but then you've had a great rep… so this will give me the rep to make even the Kingpin a lieutenant of ME!"

The Hood then went and retrieved his phone. John was still on the 'line.'

"John?"

"You okay boss?" John asked, "Do you need help?"

"No, I'm good," the Hood answered, "the Avenger they sent was Wolverine, not Captain America… but he's also a big name hero. He'll do. The rep points from killing him will be big…"

He was interrupted again as Wolverine suddenly kicked him in the knee, climbed into a crouching position and then lunged forward, driving his claws into the Hood's shoulders and pinning him to floor.

"Just about everyone knows about my healing factor, bub," Wolverine growled, "shootin' me ain't the way to win. Now… you're going to surrender and give up, or I'll gut you."

Having Wolverine's claws in him gave the Hood great physical pain, and the Hood did show some fear at seeing Wolverine's body heal from all of the gunshots he had delivered at point blank range. Against most people, even Captain America or Iron Man without his armor, those would have been fatal injuries. But the Canadian X-Man and Avenger was already recovering from them. But the Hood couldn't let himself lose. He thus summoned all the powers that he had to take the strength to at least get Wolverine away from him.

Wolverine could only watch in some horror. The Hood tripled in size, with layer upon layer of muscle growing on him in addition to a larger skeletal frame. His arms lengthened, as did his fingers, now tipped with steal claws on each finger. His hands and forearms also took on an almost robotic appearance with cables 'growing' out of them and going back into his back and underneath his Hood, which now appeared smaller on him. The Hood's face also grew demonic. His human teeth were replaced by sharp fangs as his skin turned grey and his eyes grew and distorted into massive solid read and almost insect-like yes. The Hood also grew a set of spider-like 'jaws' each tipped with fangs the size of the canines of a lion or tiger, and leaking venom.

"HHUURRRGGGHHHHHH!" the Hood gave a pained roar and then grabbed Wolverine by the neck and then threw him through the window of his apartment.

Wolverine flew across the street and landed face first on the roof of a nearby building, blacking out from the encounter. The Hood, still in demonic form wanted to pursue, but heard approaching police sirens. Someone had to have reported the fight to 911, and he couldn't stay. He quickly collected his take and teleported away.

**In Another Dimension**

The Hood's original benefactor only watched the events that were transpiring. The Hood had formed his SVU and had made his first real attack, a victory for him, as he got what he wanted. Power and control over a bunch of thugs who's only real goal was money. That didn't concern the benefactor, though. He had a much larger game to play and the Hood was enabling it. Every time the Hood exercised his powers, the benefactor felt the walls that kept him off of Earth weaken. The result would be win win for both. The Hood would get to rob, rape, murder, and do who knows what else… and his 'Union' would get to do the same, while the benefactor would be able to take over Earth. All was good, and the only one who knew it for sure was the Hood, himself, and the bargain had already been made.

**To Be Continued…**

"**All the business of war, and indeed all the business of life, is to endeavor to find out what you don't know by what you do; that's what I called 'guessing what was at the other side of the hill'."**

Duke of Wellington, British Soldier and Statesman, quoted in _The Croker Papers _(1885) Vol. 3


	5. Demons and Vengeance

All characters appearing in Avengers and other Marvel titles are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee, and are owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. All real persons mentioned in this story belong to themselves. No infringement of these copyrights or offense to the people mentioned is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder or persons. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: This story is my sequel to "Civil War" in the Captain America section and takes place immediately after that story.

Initiative

By TVfan

**Chapter 5: Demons and Vengeance**

**The Bronx**

The Hood returned to the bat that became the headquarters for his panned organization with some nervousness and a great deal of concern that many of the others caught up on. Those that were drinking in the bar paid almost no attention to him, though not all of them could have joined the Super Villain's Union.

"What's the matter, Hood?" the bartender asked him, "Your little gang just struck it rich beyond what any crook's done in years. I figured you'd be celebrating."

"The robbery was a success," the Hood replied, "but it would appear that the Deathlok didn't kill any of the Avengers that it faced. Merely allowed us to get away with the money."

"And quite a haul," the bartender replied, "you and those involved in the raid got your share's right?"

"I did, and John has also allocated some amount that goes to the Union as a whole," the Hood nodded.

"Even those that weren't in the heist?" the bartender asked.

The Hood nodded again, "Of course. The 'all or nothing' system has all too often left us with nothing or at the mercy of guys like Osborn trying to play out their own personal vendettas. By sharing the money and working together we can actually take on groups like the Avengers."

The Hood then gave a heavy sigh and rubbed his shoulders where Wolverine had clawed him. The fight had been a surprise for him. His power was by far greater than anything he had experienced before and even more powerful than most of the country's heroes. Yet, the Hood couldn't kill Wolverine on his own. The Canadian X-Men/Avenger couldn't beat him, but neither could the Hood win outright, either. This meant they would soon have company in the form of the rest of the Avengers.

"Which, I'm afraid are on their way here," the Hood said slowly, "I just came out of a bit of a scrap with Wolverine."

"Wolverine?!" one of the patrons presently in the bar, a villain known as Killer Shrike, gasped, "How are you still alive?"

"My powers are too great," the Hood answered, "but, his healing factor was enough that I couldn't kill him. And he will soon lead the Avengers here. Those of you that have your cut best leave now."

The Hood and the bartender watched as the main part of the bar emptied entirely. Just enough money was left to pay the tab and the villains then left. The Hood sincerely hoped that they weren't spending their cuts on beer. He ignored the bartender's depressed glare and went into the back room. There, John, Madame Masque, the Wrecking Crew, Wizard, Chance, and Chemistro were dividing up what remained of the money they had stolen.

**Sanctum Sanctorum**

"We've got to do something," Spider-Man said solemnly as the Blue Team members regrouped in Doctor Strange's home after dealing with the Deathlok in New Jersey.

They'd stopped the cyborg warrior, but failed to stop the robbery. In addition, the robbery wasn't the only action this new villain had perpetrated. He'd also killed one of New York's minor heroes, Hobbie Brown, the Prowler, and his wife.

"We are doing something," Captain America answered, "the one who killed the Prowler left his scent there and Wolverine is hunting him down. Once we know where he is, we can get him…"

"And once this guy is beaten, his little group will only fall apart," Spiderwoman said confidently, "How many super villain groups have stayed together for long?"

"None," Spider-Man admitted, "but I'm not talking about that… I'm talking about some sort of service for the Prowler… I mean he was a good guy."

"I'm afraid we didn't know him," Clint Barton spoke up as he came forward with Wong following him. He was drinking from a bottle of water with his mask tucked inside the folds of his costume as Ronin.

Doctor Strange ignored the talk in the background. Sending Wolverine as a tracker was key, but the foe that was causing this trouble was otherworldly and powerful in magic. Finding him might not be all they needed to do. And finding him might not only be done by following scents. This villain might be able to teleport, and thus Wolverine's sense of smell wouldn't do much. In addition, he did get some tremor of action through his own magic. He figured that Wolverine had not only found this guy but engaged him, and had been beaten back through the villain's powers. That didn't bode well, given the X-Man's powers and reputation.

Luke Cage was about to say something to try and relieve Spider-Man's concerns about the death of the Prowler when the door opened. They all turned to see Wolverine enter. He looked a bit roughed up, as though he'd been in a fairly big scrap with someone. His healing factor was enough to heal the worst of his injuries, but there were a few areas that looked like he was still recovering from the fight.

"Wolverine!" Cap exclaimed in some surprise.

"Found 'im," Wolverine said slowly, "just like you suspected. The guy is some nobody that's stumbled onto great power. Turned into some sort of demon when fought him."

"Could you identify the demon?" Doctor Strange asked.

"What do I look like? Some sort of an encyclopedia?" Wolverine grumbled, "It looked like a cross between a machine, a wasp, and a spider… how's that?"

"Fine," Doctor Strange answered, "and not good news at all."

"Not good news?" Iron Fist asked.

"The demon is one originally of the Dark Dimension, and I doubt this thug even knows the demon that is giving him the powers he has," Doctor Strange answered.

"Is this demon what you sensed?" Cap asked.

"Not entirely," Doctor Strange answered, "The demon is only PART of the problem. And if not stopped… something quite vile could cross from the Dark Dimension to ours."

"Any idea who?" Spiderwoman wondered.

"Specifically, no," Doctor Strange answered, "There could be any number of powerful beings from that dimension that could orchestrate something like this. Clea might know more… but at present if this being is trying to cross over, contacting her could let whoever is helping this thug OUT of the Dark Dimension."

"Then we'd best get going to catch this guy," Cap said firmly, "If this thug is an unknowing partner of some extra-dimensional foe, we need to stop him."

"Indeed," Doctor Strange responded.

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

"So, what's the plan, Tony?" Ms. Marvel said to Iron Man as the Avengers: Read Team members descended from the Quinjet.

The area they had landed on was a helipad on the roof of the building, though parts of the Quinjet also overhung much of the building as well. She also glanced up to another area where she saw a massive satellite dish rising out of another portion of the roof. It was too big to be a simple communications dish, but didn't know exactly what it was for.

"I mean… we know Lukin was behind the metal woman attack in Boston," Ms. Marvel continued, "and your scans on the Red Skull's powers confirmed that…"

"For the moment, we're to do what we did with the Red Skull… simply ask questions," Iron Man answered, "after all… for all we know, the Skull managed to trick my sensors. I need to get a direct scan on Lukin or his cube to know for sure."

"And what if his cube isn't with him?" Wonder Man wondered, "If we're only investigating, he might know that and do what he can to keep us at arm's length."

"If I can't detect the cube on him, then it will be Black Widow's job to find it and secure it," Iron Man replied, "and the rest of us will act as basic guards… if he does have it on him, we'll confirm our suspicions and give us the opportunity to try and take it from him."

The group then walked quietly toward door that they would be able to enter the Kronas offices. They were met by a man in business suit. He looked rather nervous, but seemed to carry enough stature to carry on.

"Good afternoon, Director Stark, Avengers," the man spoke, "You have come to speak with General Lukin?""

Iron Man got some cosmic energy signature off of the man, but decided not to act immediately. He'd let his scanners figure out what the exact frequency was and go from there. While Lukin had been more of a foe of Cap's and the Cosmic Cube was a weapon that Cap dealt with, he did know that much of it depended on the focus of the person wielding it or his power. If distracted, anything created by the Cosmic Cube wouldn't last long.

"Yes," Iron Man answered, "we have reason to believe that he is behind the recent attack in Boston."

"And you're sure that the Red Skull wasn't behind it?" the man asked, "Fascists are behind more evils than good things."

"At present there is no evidence of that," Iron Man answered.

"I see," the man nodded and opened the door to allow the Avengers in, "Please follow me."

The Avengers followed the man into the building. Large sections of it carried imagery that Iron Man expected to see in an office building, but as they made their way through what seemed like a maze of hallways, they also found paintings and photographs that one expected from a person of Lukin's personality.

"The guy seems obsessed with the Eastern Front of World War II," Arachne commented as they walked past a posted photo of a Red Army soldier waving the flag of the Soviet Union over a shattered plaza of a devastated city.

"General Lukin was a child when the Nazis attacked his country," the man leading them told the new heroine, "and has thus dedicated his life to the triumph of justice over villainy."

"Comrade Stalin was NOT just," Black Widow spoke up as they passed a portrait of the WW2 Soviet leader.

"He did more than Captain America to defeat the Nazis," the man answered, "Your Captain fought the Red Skull, yes, but one man can't conquer a people or win a war. And if not for the gallant and heroic Red Army, you Americans would not have had it so easy… and in fact, you likely would have lost."

"Spare us the politics," Iron Man sighed, "it has nothing to do with why we're here."

"Of course," the man nodded, and opened a door into a large office where Lukin was waiting with the Cosmic Cube in hand.

Once the door opened, the man that had been escorting them vanished without a trace and the Cosmic Cube took on a blue glow.

"You're just here to destroy all that is still good and just in this world to serve your Fascist masters!" Lukin growled and a blast of energy rushed from the Cosmic Cube and hit Iron Man in the chest.

The blow sent Iron Man flying backward into both the Sentry and Hercules, with enough force to send all three through the wall opposite the door that had been opened. Wonder Man, Wasp, and Ms. Marvel were quick to enter Lukin's office, while Arachne and Black Widow flipped through at angles to try and flank Lukin.

"I'm going to say it's safe to assume that Lukin was behind the attack in Boston," Ms. Marvel growled and brown her own powers being brought forward, bringing her hands to a golden glow.

"It's also safe to assume I am the man who defeated the Avengers," Lukin said with a smile.

**The Bronx**

The pile of money on the table that was the overall take from the bank robbery in New Jersey was much smaller than it had originally been, but then that had gone to the SVU members that had not been involved in the robbery.

"Man… I wish we didn't have to share it with the dopes that didn't even participate in the robbery," Wrecker grumbled as he was stuffing his take into a duffel bag.

"That's precisely what got so many of you beaten up before," the Hood said firmly as he entered, "people trying to get it all for themselves and leave themselves distracted and overpowered. It also means that those lower on the totem pole helping someone bigger never get the chance to upgrade their tech, their abilities, or their position and leaves them vulnerable to being captured and made to talk."

"The stronger we are as a group the less likely the Avengers and certainly any lone hero have at taking us all down," Madame Masque stated from her position beside the Hood's human aide, John King.

"And we will soon be confronted by the Avengers," the Hood spoke slowly, "I just fought off Wolverine… he'll likely track us here."

"I thought you said you'd take him out?" John asked.

"I managed to keep him from killing me, but I couldn't kill him," the Hood answered, "that blasted healing factor of his."

Wizard, Chance, and Chemistro traded a few nervous glances, but the Wrecking Crew actually looked hopeful for a fight. Madame Masque for the moment looked curious.

"Which team of Avengers is it?" Madame Masque asked, "Red or Blue?"

The Hood guessed she was looking for a fight with Red Team to see the defeat and death of Iron Man. However, Wolverine was not on Red Team, so it should have been obvious that Iron Man would not be taking them on.

"Iron Man is presently investigating Kronas Industries," the Hood answered, "this will be Blue Team that we are facing."

"So we can pound that spider-skank?" Wrecker asked.

"Yes," the Hood answered, "but we will need to work as a team and work together. This may mean making sacrifices in individual fights to suit us all as a team."

"So long as we get to take out Spiderwoman, I don't care," Wrecker answered.

"You ain't gonna leave us, are you, boss?" Chance asked.

"No," the Hood answered, "the only ones leaving will be Masque and John."

"What!?" Madame Masque blurted, "I can fight!"

The Hood raised a hand to try and dismiss her anger, "I know. But John CAN'T. I'm trust you to get him out of here. The Avengers will likely want me and won't know the others are here… but John is not super powered and wouldn't last long. I need you to guard him and get him out of here. Once he's safely away, you can come back if you wish… but John must be in a place where no one will find him, understood."

Madame Masque blinked as the Hood had explained what he wanted her to do. There was a lot of it that didn't make much sense in the traditional sense. In the past when a super villain was cornered, he/she fought regardless of the consequences, and teams thus left their aides and stooges to be captured when they lost. But the Hood wasn't doing that, he was clearing the likely battle area of those who couldn't fight. The way he had even said it made her think that if the others hadn't fully collected their take yet, he would have had them all scatter until a sufficient trap for the Avengers could be laid with all of the SVU.

"You're certainly different from other 'bosses' anyone of us has had," Madame Masque said to the Hood, "we'll be going. I trust the rest will be headed out once their takes are divided up?"

"If it can be done before the Avengers arrive," the Hood answered, "no go! You and John have your takes!"

John and Madam Masque grabbed two separate duffel bags and then quickly ran out the back door. The Hood watched as Masque covered John as he went out and then turned to the others.

"The rest of you… get your takes secure as quickly as you can," the Hood spoke, "the team following me will come from either the back door or through the bar itself. We need be ready… and Wrecking Crew… you'll need to keep Wolverine, Cap, and Cage off balance while I engage Doctor Strange. Chance and Wizard… do your best to funnel Spider-Man, Spiderwoman, and Iron fist into the waiting fists of the Wrecking Crew."

"Can do," Chance answered, "Just having you participating in this raises our chances of success."

At this the Hood smiled. Beating individual heroes would be one thing. Taking on teams, like the Avengers would be another thing altogether. So far, it looked as though the SVU would put together the teamwork that would be needed to take the heroes on.

Outside the bar and on a nearby rooftop, Avengers: Blue Team appeared in a brief flash of purple light. Wolverine had led them back to Parker Robins' apartment, but the Hood was long since gone. However, Doctor Strange was able to sense a strong residual trace of magic. It further made him concerned over the situation. At Hobbie Brown's apartment and in New Jersey, the signature of magic didn't linger behind, but at Parker Robins' apartment it did. This meant only one thing, the magic that this thug was using was growing stronger and the barrier between Earth and the Dark Dimension was weakening.

"They're in there," Doctor Strange said pointing to the bar, where the demon's magic was now radiating from.

The gathered Blue Team members looked down and could see the gathered super villains talking with each other through a skylight. It was dominated by a man in a red hood and a large round trouble covered in money rapidly being put into separate duffel bags.

"That looks like Parker Robbins," Spider-Man commented.

"Hmm?" Cap asked.

"The guy in the red hood," Spider-Man pointed, "That is Parker Robins. Small time thug and thief. I've caught him a couple dozen times and left him dangling after he's tried to rob gas stations, convenience stores, little old ladies, you name it."

"He's graduated beyond that by now," Spiderwoman answered, "thanks to that hood he's wearing."

"And it is the hood that is the issue," Doctor Strange answered.

"Getting it off him won't be easy," Luke Cage commented, "he's got the Wrecking Crew helping him. We had all we could do to take down Wrecker alone… his buddies won't be easy to deal with."

"Could your pheromone powers disrupt them?" Cap asked to Spiderwoman.

"It might," Spiderwoman answered with a shrug, "but that's a double edge sword… even if you're prepared to encounter them… that doesn't mean that you won't be affected."

Cap sighed and looked back toward the bank skylight. He could see John and Madame Masque leaving through a backdoor. They soon disappeared down an alleyway and into the rest of the Bronx. They had to stop the Hood before something terrible was unleashed on Earth, but it was rapidly looking that it wouldn't be easy given who was with him, and Red Team was still investigating the attack on Boston as far as he knew.

"Perhaps we do not need to trick their noses but their eyes," Doctor Strange spoke up, "make them think that MORE heroes than are actually there have joined us."

Cap looked over to the sorcerer supreme as he chanted in a language Cap didn't recognize. They then watched as images of nearly every other hero on Earth soon appeared. From Iron Man to Thor to the Thing. Even an image of the Hulk was present.

"Will this work?" Ronin asked as he drew one of his katana.

"Hopefully long enough to isolate the Hood," Doctor Strange answered, "he's the only one that knows magic and the only one that is really the target to focus on."

"Then let's go!" Iron Fist said confidently, giving Luke Cage a fist-bump.

The money had just been put in each duffel bag to be carried out when the skylight above shattered. The Hood jumped back as shards of glass hit the table and then looked up as a heavy thud landed on the table. There stood the entire Blue Team at the ready to fight. His eyes widened when he saw nearly all of the heroes of New York dropping in through the hole in the skylight. He had a plan for Avengers: Blue Team, but not all of these heroes.

"Alright, Hood," Cap said firmly, "Surrender, and no one gets hurt."

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

"My cube is far more powerful than all of you combined!" Lukin said triumphantly, "I can easily blast you to pieces!"

He then fired a blast from the cube at Ms. Marvel, who was the closest. The result, however, was not what Lukin hoped. The bluish energy from the cube was absorbed by the blond heroine and took on a golden glow around her.

"I can absorb energy, Lukin," Ms. Marvel answered, and returned the energy toward its creator.

The blast destroyed Lukin's desk, and sent Lukin stumbling back. Ms. Marvel took further control of the situation, as the sounds of security men came running.

"Arachne! Get the cube! Wasp, cover her with some stings!" Ms. Marvel ordered, "I'll draw his fire."

"What about me?" Wonder Man asked.

"Check on Tony and the others," Ms. Marvel instructed, "who knows what surprises this guy has beyond his cube!"

"Right," Wonder Man nodded.

Wasp fired several wasp stings toward Lukin, mostly hoping she could hit the cube, remembering a story Cap had told her about an encounter between Captain America and the Red Skull with the cube. Cap had damaged that cube and it exploded killing the Skull. If the cube was damaged, it wouldn't be able to do Lukin much good and she figured he'd toss it away. At the same time, Arachne leaped forward, hoping to use her speed to her advantage. The moves, however failed.

Lukin rolled to protect and hide the cube, allowing Arachne to pass over him.

"You really think I'd be so stupid as to allow you to target my source of power?" Lukin growled, "the thing that will allow me to save this world from the Red Skull and those that sided with him?!"

As Arachne landed on the other side of the room, she came to a stop near one of Kronas's flag stood seemingly undamaged. As she stood there, the cloth of the flag seemed to come to life and attacked her. It moved too fast for her spider-sense to allow her to get away. It felt like some sort of gel that couldn't be stopped. It wrapped around her like some sort of living ooze and a flash of horror went through Arachne's mind. The other Avengers in surprise watched as Arachne began to shake her arms to try and shake it off of her, but it was in vain as it soon covered her entirely.

Arachne was now covered in a black costume with a blood red spider that seemed to mirror two capital 'k's in mirror images of each other. Her hair now looked like black tentacles that moved like the snakes on Medusa's head from Greek mythology.

"We… we are CANCER!" Arachne declared, turning to face the others, and revealing the sharp teeth that were normally associated with Venom or Carnage.

"A symbiote…" Black Widow gasped.

"Yes," Lukin nodded, "one that will fight for me."

He used the shock of the Avengers to allow him to get up and make his next move.

"As will all of you, or if you won't… it will be the death of you!" Lukin vowed and fired two more beams from the cube.

One hit the rug on the floor which began to fold itself and rise up off of the floor. Ms. Marvel watched in surprise as a statue of the X-Man Rogue stood before her, completely constructed out of the material of the rug. The other beam hit Wasp as she tried to charge Lukin. Arachne may have been a knew heroine, but Wasp never abandoned teammates and wasn't about to let the violation of Arachne's will go unpunished.

She screamed with pain and fell to the ground. Ms. Marvel backed away with Black Widow moving beside her as Wasp grew to her normal size but kept her wings visible. Shortly after that, two arms grew out of her sides, tipped in sharp claws, giving Wasp a total of six limbs. The last change that occurred was the growth of a wasp's abdomen. Colored black and gold, like her costume, it was tipped with a stinger and bobbed up and down as Wasp turned around. Ms. Marvel cringed as she saw that Wasp had grown large mandibles that mirrored that of a wasp or hornet in nature.

"For you are all nothing but servants of the Skull," Lukin growled, "and I will not hesitate to use my weapons, especially since I know how powerful they can be!"

**The Bronx**

The Hood was not quite sure on how to handle what he saw. He had planned to deal with one of the two Avengers teams, but what he saw appeared to be half of America's heroes.

"I think the odds just turned against us, boss," Chance spoke nervously, throwing off the Hood's attempt to use his powers to see exactly what the Avengers' plan was.

Frustrated by the interruption, the Hood turned to the only other option he had.

"Make a run for it!" the Hood commanded.

"Boss…" Wrecker began to protest.

"That's half the countries heroes!" the Hood answered, "We can't beat them all! Go! Try to keep together and work together… but the prime goal is to get away!"

All the Hood got was a web-ball to the face and then being kicked backward as Spider-Man came in over Cap's shoulders, then flipped and landed so to block the door the rest of the bar.

"Same ol' Parker Robbins, I see," Spider-Man quipped, "Hey! I just robbed a bank, why are people chasing me?"

The Hood exploded in rage and raised one had to Spider-Man, the door behind the hero suddenly burst into flame, making him jump away. He'd want to finish the wall-crawler off, but what had arrived was a running fight. Meanwhile the rest of his gang moved to try and make their own escape.

"Come on," Wrecker said to Chance and Wizard who were cowering behind the Wrecking Crew.

Piledriver lead the charge while the others grouped around the two weaker super villains. He charged what looked like a charging Hulk, only to run through it like it wasn't there.

"What the…" Piledriver said in a great deal of surprise.

It didn't help him much as he felt a strong kick to the side of his knee and then an iron hard punch to the back of his ribs. He looked to see Iron Fist in a fighting stance to his right with Thor and Daredevil to back him up.

"They're not all real!" Piledriver exclaimed.

"Maybe," Iron Fist replied, sounding, "But which are fake and which are real?"

Iron Fist then lunged forward to land a jab into Piledriver's gut and then rolled to avoid the retaliatory strike on Piledriver's part. The villain then swung his massive fists that passed through Daredevil like he wasn't there, and then through Thor. Piledriver cursed at failing to identify the real Avenger and turned back toward Iron Fist, though was fairly hesitant since he had no way of telling who was real and who was not.

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

Iron Man, meanwhile, managed to pull himself back up to his feet. The last thing he'd expected was to be blasted by a bolt of cosmic energy.

"Shields?" Iron Man asked to the computers that were part of his armor.

"Shields holding at 89%, though no further hits by cosmic energy forces should be taken," the computer answered.

"I'll keep that in mind," Iron Man replied and turned to Sentry and Hercules who were also getting up, "Well it would appear that he was waiting for us."

"Aye," Hercules nodded, "It will be a grand story for our children."

The Greek demigod was about head back towards where Lukin was a large metal hand came through the hole and knocked him down with another punch. Iron Man and Sentry managed to catch Hercules as a metal version of Ares, Hercules' half-brother, entered the room.

"Did you not think that General Lukin would not be prepared for you?" the metal Ares spoke.

"That may be," Hercules said firmly, "but that does not mean he will win!"

Hercules then dove forward and caught the metal Ares around the waist and tackled him to the ground. Iron Man and Sentry heard the sound of two punches being delivered before the two hit the floor. Figuring that the metal Ares was merely another distraction on Lukin's part, Iron Man moved to lead the Sentry out when he heard a voice speak to him from behind.

"And where are you going Comrade Stark?" came a Russian voice with a slight mechanical edge to it.

Iron Man turned around to see a red and black version of Titanium Man and a being that seemed to be completely black, as if he was a shadow. The shadow was giving off the cosmic energy signature that gave it away as a construct of the cosmic cube, but the Titanium Man did not.

"So, Lukin is copying my old enemies?" Iron Man inquired, "you any better than your predecessors?"

"Much," Titanium Man answered, "and I stand to right the wrongs you've caused and the bad friends you've made."

Iron Man inwardly cringed. Lukin and Kronas seemed to be operating under the perception that he had agreed with the Red Skull during the crisis involving the Registration Act. It meant that Lukin was far more ideologically driven than he had thought, or truly didn't know how complicated the issues related to the Registration Act were. He was about to retaliate when he noticed that Sentry was backing away, almost nervous.

"The Void…" the Sentry said slowly.

"As you've always wanted," the construct Void taunted and stepped forward.

"Sentry, listen, that's a construct! He's not real!" Iron Man said to him quickly.

"But what if I made him…" Sentry said nervously, almost breaking apart.

"Do you know right from wrong?" Iron Man questioned.

"Yes," Sentry said slowly.

"Then focus on what you know is right," Iron Man answered, "you cannot do two things at once, consciously or subconsciously."

"Right," Sentry replied, sounding a little firmer and glared to construct Void.

"We're waiting!" Titanium Man growled.

"Sorry," Iron replied and blasted Titanium Man in the chest with his repulsor rays and then shouted to the Sentry, "You can take him, Sentry. YOU are good. Always remember that!"

**The Bronx**

"For a guy who came back from the dead," Chemistro growled as he drew his alchemy gun, "you sure got a death wish!"

Ronin readied his weapons. They were bladed and wouldn't defeat Chemistro's weapon, but at such close range, he had little chance of completely dodging the blast. Chemistro did in fact fire his gun, but managed to block the shot with his swords. They, however, turned to glass, and Ronin wouldn't get a second opportunity to play that trick again. Without his weapons, Chemistro judged Ronin to be an easy target and charged. Ronin managed to dodge a few punches and land a few jabs at Chemistro's stomach and ribs. To Ronin's surprise, Chemistro took the punches surprisingly well.

"You've been working out since the last fight I'd heard you been in," Ronin commented, catching something moving toward Chemistro and trying to buy time for what was coming to arrive.

"The Chemistro you're thinking of retired," Chemistro added, "I am better than him and always was. I…"

Chemistro's boast was cut short when Captain America's shield hit him in the back of the head and knocked him out. Ronin then crushed the alchemy gun that the villain preferred to use.

"Good shot, Cap," Ronin said to the star spangled Avenger.

"Yes," Cap nodded, "Hopefully this distraction can keep the Hood off balance and his friends swinging at shadows."

Ronin glanced toward the other fights as they erupted against Blue Team. It was a mess as villains swung through the images of heroes or were stuck facing a different hero in a one on one situation.

"Yep," Ronin nodded, "best to move on and help those facing a tough fight to begin with."

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

Ms. Marvel's part of the fight was not going as well as had been hoped. Wonder Man, who was supposed to get to Iron Man, was blocked when the cosmic cube possessed, Arachne, going by Cancer leaped over the battle and landed a flying kick to his back. The blow knocked him to the ground.

"We cannot allow that," Cancer snarled with a smirk.

"Forgive me," Wonder Man said in a low voice and tried to directly over power the symbiote that had overtaken the red headed heroine.

To his great surprise, Cancer caught his intended blow with both her hands and the tentacles on her head and used Wonder Man's own momentum against him. The ionic hero could only grunt as he hit the wall to Lukin's office face first. He managed to land a backward kick that broke Cancer's grip on him and allowed him to land a second and much stronger kick that sent her bouncing off a different wall.

"You can't win this fight," Wonder Man said to Cancer, "Your host will tire before I will…"

Cancer only replied by extending the tentacles on her head and using them like spears, sending them through Wonder Man's arms and legs. The blow hurt, but Wonder Man soon felt his own ionic abilities beginning to push Cancer's tentacles out of him. Healing them would take a little bit out of him, but so long as he wasn't facing the Cosmic Cube directly, he should be fine.

Ms. Marvel and Black Widow were meanwhile facing the mutated Wasp, who said nothing more than an animalistic growl or buzz. They weren't quite sure on whether the noise came from her vocal cords or her wings. Ms. Marvel was only grateful that the rug Rogue was not flame proof and burned up after one blast of her own powers, but that still didn't make having to help Black Widow fight Wasp any easier.

"We've got to get the Cosmic Cube from him," Ms. Marvel said to Black Widow as she absorbed another barrage of wasp stings, coming from all six of Wasp's present limbs and from the stinger on her abdomen. The blond heroine could feel some pain, but her powers were handling the bio-electricity well enough.

"Easier said than done when we have to face a mutated version of one of our own teammates," Black Widow answered as she rolled and fired a series of tranquilizer darts from her gauntlets.

Her effort did little against Wasp's exoskeleton. The darts bounced off and Wasp only replied by firing a series of wasp stings at Black Widow. Ms. Marvel fired a blast of redirected energy at Wasp, hoping that it would either get her to back off. It brushed her back but didn't do entirely what Ms. Marvel hoped it would do. She didn't want to have to go all out against a teammate, but the powers that the cube wielded were too much. Ms. Marvel sighed and realized she have to make it up Jan later.

"I'll deal with Wasp," Ms. Marvel spoke, "you either get the cube from Lukin or help Wonder Man free Arachne."

Ms. Marvel brought all her available powers to bear and leaving a golden trail of energy behind her, rushed and Wasp. The two made contact, and while Wasp tried to grapple with her, Ms. Marvel had enough momentum to drive Wasp back. Black Widow on the ground watched Ms. Marvel drive the Wasp through the roof of the office and could hear as more floors and ceilings broke.

"Now to end this," Black Widow thought to herself.

While Ms. Marvel removed the transformed Wasp from the room, Black Widow summersaulted to try and kick the cosmic cube from Lukin's hand. He was still standing still and watching the battles as they progressed. He didn't move as Black Widow approached, and to her surprise, her kick did nothing to harm him. In fact, she watched in surprise as her heal went through the cube as if it wasn't even there. Lukin then turned to face her.

"Ah, the one who betrayed her country to Fury," Lukin said slowly, "who would rather see the poor suffer under the boot of industrialists like Stark and militarists like Fury."

"And brainwashing an innocent and sending him as an assassin to kill other innocents who might oppose the Soviet Union was better?" Black Widow shot back, "I did what I did because it was the right thing to do."

"And allows your homeland to fall behind the West," Lukin answered, "We were behind them in the War in everything but numbers… they had their super weapons and super soldiers… all we had were numbers and our winter. You are the betrayer, and seeing your own team destroy itself will be more than enough punishment for you!"

Black Widow was about to land punch on Lukin when he suddenly vanished from the room. She soon realized that he'd never been there in the first place.

**The Bronx**

For the Wizard, the battle went even worse than it had for Chemistro. For the most part he had been protected by the Wrecking Crew, but they were going after the fake heroes, not knowing that they were in fact fakes. Trying to protect his share of the cash, he ran straight into Luke Cage, who was using the distraction created by Dr. Strange's magic to his advantage.

"Going somewhere?" Luke asked as he clinched his fists.

"Through you," the Wizard growled, and using the equipment in his helmet to fire a blast from his gloves.

The force field blast hit Luke Cage in the chest as he came forward and sent him staggering back, while the Wizard tried to rush on. However, the force field blast did very little to defeat the African American hero. Cage staggered slightly, but recovered and managed to grab the duffel bag that the Wizard was carrying. The Wizard turned, startled, and desperately tried to keep the duffel bag and found himself in a tug of war with Luke Cage.

It was a fight he was bound to lose. Luke Cage watched as sweat poured down the Wizard's face. He knew that the Wizard had no real powers. Everything he did was based off of his suit. His helmet contained a powerful computerized battery that powered various pieces of technology that would mimic various types of superpowers. Cage, by contrast, wasn't reliant on technology and his powers were part of him. He knew how strong he was, and knew that his strength was greater than the Wizard's. Eventually the Wizard's technology shorted out. The Wizard tried to fire another force field blast, but in doing so, he weakened the strength he needed to fight with Luke Cage. In doing this, Cage won the tug of war match and threw the Wizard across the room and was left holding the duffel bag the Wizard had fought so hard to keep.

"And this guy is a real threat because…" Luke Cage thought to himself as he tossed the duffel bag aside and moved to finish the Wizard off.

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

Ms. Marvel didn't stop pushing Wasp until they were out of the building completely and flying above the Kronas Offices. As they made it out, however, both were caught in a blue energy field that wrapped around them completely and formed a large metal cage with are larger energy net around it. It was then deposited on the roof of the building. Ms. Marvel tried to push against it, but failed as the metal wouldn't budge.

"Do that all you wish, it won't help either of you," came Lukin's voice from outside the cage.

Ms. Marvel glanced down to see Wasp back in her normal form and lying on the ground trying to sort the cobwebs out of her head. She then looked out to see Lukin standing there with the Cosmic Cube clutched to his chest. The cube glowed a bright blue and to her surprise, she could also see the satellite dish as well, and it was glowing with the same color as the cube. Lukin looked particularly triumphant at the way the fight was going.

"See," Lukin smiled, "I've beaten you. And in the end… the villains that decided to work with the Red Skull will pay for their wrongdoing."

**The Bronx**

"Oooffff," Wolverine grunted as Thunderball's wrecking ball hit him in the side and sent him flying against one of the outside walls.

If it weren't for his healing factor and Adamantium skeleton, Wolverine was certain he would either be dead or wrestling with several broken bones. Thunderball and his partner, Bulldozer, advanced toward the Canadian X-Man. They looked somewhat confident, but yet nervous. Both took swings at the illusions that Doctor Strange conjured up.

"You know, for guys looking confident in facing me… you look rather perplexed," Wolverine gave a slight smirk, "You sure I'm real and not some illusion designed to make you think you're beating me?"

Wolverine actually smirked as both of them paused and then desperately looked around. It was if they were expecting another hero to come at them, or perhaps a different Wolverine to come at them. Thunderball swung his wrecking ball at an image of Wraith while Bulldozer charged at an image of Wonder Man and crashed through the wall not far away from where Wolverine was. This left Wolverine alone in a fight with Thunderball. Bulldozer might actually escape, but given what he had been told about the threat that the Hood posed, and his memory of the fight with the Hood, Wolverine was quite willing to let one member of the Wrecking Crew escape.

With Bulldozer likely fleeing the 'host' of heroes that had stormed the SVU's hideout, Wolverine moved on the distracted Thunderball. Distracted by an image of Wolfsbane and Winter Soldier/Buck, he wasn't focused on Wolverine's attack. Wolverine landed a flying kick to Thunderball's back and sent him sprawling out on his face. Before Thunderball can respond, Wolverine took it a step further and cut the wrecking ball off from the chain that held it. With his weapon destroyed, Thunderball was effectively useless.

"Worthless mutant!" Thunderball cursed and lunged at Wolverine.

Sheathing his claws, Wolverine caught the attack and managed to flip Thunderball over. The villain was then knocked out with a swift kick to the head.

"On to the others," Wolverine said slowly.

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

The Sentry drove the construct Void through several walls before throwing the construct through the door to the front lobby of Kronas Industries. The construct Void slowly rolled and got and had a slight grin.

"This is how you wanted it?" the Void taunted, "We fight to the death in the lobby of a major business? We destroy each other this way… or rather; I destroy you, as you've always wanted."

Remembering what Iron Man told him, Sentry kept his mind focused on what was right. Lukin's attack on the Avengers was not, and neither was having the Void here. And logically, since he was focused on what was right, the Void couldn't threaten anything in reality. Even if the Void could exist while he was focused on what was right, this Void was a construct of the Cosmic Cube, and not real.

"What I want is good to triumph over evil," Sentry answered, "and what General Lukin has done is not right. I am countering his actions!"

"I am your counter!" the Void answered, "I am everything you pretend not to be!"

"You aren't real," Sentry answered, clenching his fists and squeezing his eyes shut, keeping Iron Man's instructions in mind.

"Well… I tried…" the Void answered, and gave a whistle.

The Void's hands morphed into machine guns as thirty Kronas security guards, dressed as commandos came out of hiding. They all began to fire on the Sentry, as if the bullets could do him harm. The ones that the Void fired felt like pinpricks, but the guards did him no harm whatsoever.

"Your defense of a bad man won't succeed," Sentry said firmly and let a great deal of light flash around him.

In a rapid burst it blinded and disoriented the guards completely, and the Sentry then rushed forward and crushed the guns that the Void was using. To the Sentry's surprise, however, he didn't struggle, but spoke in Lukin's voice.

"A shame I have already won."

This actually made the Sentry wonder as to what was going on. He rushed out and looked up to the roof to see Ms. Marvel and a now conscious Wasp imprisoned in some sort of cage and a giant electric blue aura glowing over the Kronas Industries roof.

"Sentry! Get the cube! It's the only way we can win!" Ms. Marvel shouted.

He honestly tried, but just as he was about to fly up, wires and mechanics grabbed him from behind. He looked back to see some massive machine with giant manacles waiting for him. He struggled, but strangely, it was too strong for him. Once pulled into it, the Sentry felt his body pulled into an 'X' formation, and then felt his powers growing weaker, as though the machine was draining him of his powers. The device was then levitated toward Lukin.

"You didn't honestly think I would rely on your own past and mental weaknesses like some common thug?" Lukin questioned, "Did you? Did you really think I would be stupid enough not to know that men like Stark would try to make sure that your inner demons weren't a problem."

The Sentry only glared back. He tried to hide that he was in pain, but had only a limited effect.

"What are you doing to him?" Wasp demanded.

"Draining him of his powers and feeding them into my satellites, further allowing me to expand my power and reach and ensure the real triumph of good over evil," Lukin answered, "and in the process removing a very dangerous threat to the world… even if it is threat that doesn't intend to be a threat."

**The Bronx**

Chance fired his wrist blasters at just about anything that moved in a nearly blind manner as nearly every hero that he saw outclassed him in some way. Most of them turned out to be fakes, not that that build his confidence any. Eventually he ran into Spider-Man trying to escape who he thought to be Colossus.

"So, how are the odds today?" Spider-Man quipped while landing a rapid blow that sent Chance flying back.

Before Chance could hit the wall, Spider-Man caught him in a web-cocoon and left him there to wait for the battle to end. With that battle over, he looked to follow the remaining action going on between Avengers: Blue Team and the SVU. He found Wrecker in a fight against Spiderwoman and Piledriver trading blows with Iron Fist.

"Hold still, lady!" Wrecker roared as he swung his crowbar at Spiderwoman, who managed to dodge backward to avoid taking a hit.

The wild blow ended up taking out a section of the wall, and Spiderwoman found herself having to dodge bits of the ceiling as it fell as a consequence of the damage being done to it by the wrecking crew. She fired a few venom blasts at Wrecker, but they barely fazed him, and he appeared angry enough that her pheromone powers wouldn't work in this case.

"Yeah… hold still and let some maniac crush me with an enchanted crowbar…" Spiderwoman answered, "Do you really think I'm that stupid?!"

Wrecker only roared and chopped the crowbar in a downward swing like it was a giant axe. Spiderwoman barely managed to avoid being hit by it, and her eyes widened as the crowbar opened a large crack in the floor of the room. He tried to free his weapon, only to have Spiderwoman hit him in the face and shoulder with more venom blasts. They stung, but didn't really hurt him. His only response was to backhand heroine and send her flying. Once she was farther away, he managed to pull his crowbar free.

"Now to finish that…" Wrecker began only to have a ball of webbing hit him in the mouth.

He then turned to see Spider-Man standing in a position from which he could flank him while he went after Spiderwoman.

"Watch your language, Wrecker," Spider-Man half joked half scolded, "you wouldn't want to wreck your villain versus hero relationship with words you'll regret later."

The Wrecker growled and pulled the webbing away from his mouth, cringing as doing so left him with a few abrasions around it, "You're almost as annoying as she is!"

He then charged the arachnid themed hero, easily dodged the attack by leaping and flipping over it. As he did so, he caught Wrecker's crowbar with a webline and hoped to pull it out of his hands.

"Almost? I must need to try harder!" Spider-Man quipped and held on tight as Wrecker didn't lose his grip and began to tug on the webline to try and pull Spider-Man closer to him.

Spider-Man held on tight, but despite his strength, Wrecker was stronger, and he could feel the floor beginning to strain underneath him. Wrecker would soon pull him and the floor out in a matter of moments. It was in that moment that Spiderwoman returned to the fight. She flew in with her fists charged for venom blasts and landed blows on Wrecker's head and fired the venom blasts as she did so. This made Wrecker cringe in pain, and he released the crowbar to grab his face. Spider-Man took that as an opportunity to join Spiderwoman in finishing the crook off. Wrecker recovered only to see Spider-Man and Spiderwoman's fists approaching him and after that, everything went black for him.

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

Iron Man bounced hard off of a wall in what appeared to be a command center after a blast from a fight between him the latest Titanium Man. The two had traded a few minor blows before both it seemed as though Titanium Man seemed to gain the advantage. He then tried to blast away at Iron Man with his own blasters, a knockoff of Iron Man's repulsor rays, Iron Man, however countered with his own weapons and ended up in a pushing match with Titanium Man. Iron Man's repuslors against Titanium Man's copied weapons. The match went until the energies of each weapon couldn't take it anymore and there was an energy explosion between the two of them, and the explosion sent both of them flying in opposite directions.

Iron Man recovered and saw that his impact had activated a few of the computer screens in the room. They showed the American responses to the Red Skull early on, including the press defending the Red Skull's alliance with the Red Skull. They showed Cap's response to it and in comparison diagrams of Iron Man and various pro-Registration heroes not joining Captain America. The last were photographs of the village of Kronas near what was then known as Stalingrad after a battle between the Invaders and the Red Army against the Red Skull and German forces defending the region.

"Amazing to see how long General Lukin has had to face the Red Skull and his cronies," came the Titanium Man's voice as he cut Iron Man off from his observations.

"Given that Cap is from the same timeframe, no, I'm not surprised," Iron Man turned to face Titanium Man, "just about everyone's come across some sort of drug that has either slowed down the aging process, strengthens someone to resist the aging process, or borderline grants immortality. Lukin is merely one of the latest to do so."

Titanium Man only charged with an enraged cry. As he charged, Iron Man noticed some malfunction in his opponent's blasters as he charged. It was if the earlier efforts with his energy weapons had partially short circuited the equipment. Iron Man then figured that the present armor and weaponry was either rushed for the wearer or still being tested.

Iron Man ducked under the punch that Titanium Man intended to throw and hit Titanium Man in the back with repuslor rays as he passed Iron Man. The attack accelerated the other armored warrior's physical attack making him crash into the computer panels in the wall that Iron Man had just been observing earlier.

"You're going to pay for that, Stark," Titanium Man growled and fired his energy weapons again.

Iron Man only replied with his repuslors as he was waiting for this attack. Again, Iron Man targeted the attack made against him and let the power build up between the two weapons. He figured the experimental nature of Titanium Man's blasters meant that he would not survive another serious strain on them. Shortly after the renewed 'pushing match' between the two of them began, the weapons overloaded again and sent both staggering backward. Just as the blast subsided and Titanium Man was about to recover, although his blasters now looked damaged beyond repair, Hercules appeared and in one single over hand blow, the Greek demigod knocked Titanium Man unconscious.

"Hercules?" Iron Man questioned, fearing this was another construct of the Cosmic Cube.

"Aye, Iron Man," Hercules answered, "It is I. It would appear that our foe's use of the Cosmic Cube has spread himself thin. His construct was strong, but not invulnerable."

Hercules then gestured to the hole in the wall that had been made by the blasts from Iron Man and Titanium Man's weaponry. The red and gold Avenger could then see the damage and torn apart pieces of the metal Areas that had been created. The creation was in six pieces and weren't moving.

"Well done then," Iron Man nodded, "Come on, we need to get to Lukin."

"What not of the Sentry?" Hercules asked, "He is a mighty hero, but seems unsteady to me. Lukin's ploy with this 'Void' might be enough to distract or disorient him."

"The ploy is a creation of the Cosmic Cube," Iron Man answered, "the faster we either destroy it or gain control of it, the sooner the Void construct will fail… and that is assuming Sentry hasn't gained some control over his personal demons."

**The Bronx**

Meanwhile, Iron Fist continued dodge and trade blows with Piledriver. The Wrecking Crew member continued to swing wildly at both Iron Fist and at heroes that weren't really there. This allowed Iron Fist to dodge and land blows that clearly made Piledriver stagger. He had no real powers, but the mental control of his chi and his K'un-L'un training more than made up for it.

"You're unbalanced, Piledriver, and lacking center," Iron Fist spoke as he dodged another wild punch that Piledriver threw at him, "surrender before you get yourself hurt."

"Stop cheating and let me pound you!" Piledriver answered as he threw his fists at an image of the Invisible Woman.

When the blow failed to make contact with anyone, Piledriver turned back to face Iron Fist, with a half enraged and half nervous look on his face. He took a few steps when he heard something. He looked back to see Luke Cage rushing toward him as well as Thor with his hammer ready. This time, he judged the closest, Luke Cage, to be a fake and the farther away Thor to be the one that was real. He turned back to Iron Fist figuring that he had time knock the martial artist out before he would have to deal with the thunder god.

However, the Thor was the fake, not Luke Cage. When Piledriver turned to face Iron Fist, the African American Hero closed the distance and clubbed Piledriver's shoulders with his fists. The sudden blow brought Piledriver to his knees and left him open to Iron Fist's skills. The villain took a chi powered punch to the temple and was out cold.

"You okay?" Luke Cage asked.

"Yeah," Iron Fist nodded, "Looks like we're getting things under control. Now, all we need to know how to help the Doc."

The 'Doc' was obviously Doctor Strange. He moved straight on the Hood after his lashing out in rage at Spider-Man. The Hood managed to catch his movement and pulled a gun, but the master of mysticism was able to not only remove the weapon, he reduced it to harmless water.

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

Black Widow groaned heavily, realizing that Lukin was getting good at using the Cosmic Cube. The fight inside the offices was merely a distraction, and he likely had a different endgame in mind to take them down. As she looked over to the fight between Cancer and Wonder Man, she did however realize Cancer was putting up a very good fight against Wonder Man.

"Of course," Black Widow groaned, "Spider-Man trains her well, and now when Lukin creates some symbiote to take over her, she uses those skills against us…"

She watched as Cancer continually outmaneuvered Wonder Man, and Wonder Man's ionic body allowed him to take a large amount of punishment from the symbiote's natural weapons. Then something that she'd seen while looking over updated S.H.I.E.L.D. files came to mind. Arachne was supposed to be possessed by a symbiote in order to become Cancer, much like her husband had been possessed by the Venom symbiote.

"A symbiote," Black Widow thought tactically for a moment, "who only has weaknesses of fire or sound."

She then snapped her fingers and shouted to Wonder Man, "Simon! Cover your ears!"

Wonder Man glanced over to see Black Widow raising one of her gauntlets. Cancer wasn't about to give him the chance, but being fairly prepared, he grabbed a hold of Cancer's tentacles as she attempted to attack with them again and then slung her across the room. Once Cancer hit the wall, Black Widow fired a small sphere from one gauntlet. It hit Cancer and then exploded in a great blast of noise. Wonder Man watched as Cancer screamed in pain and then seemed to break away from Arachne. The symbiote rapidly retreated into the cracks of the destroyed office, leaving Arachne cringing where it had been.

Once she was free of the symbiote, Wonder Man moved quickly to get Arachne away from where it had been, in case it came back.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Other than the fact that I had some cosmically created alien take me over… I'm fine," Arachne said slowly as she got back to her feet, "did Black Widow get…"

"No," Black Widow interrupted, "we still need to catch General Lukin… and after this, I'd wager that this was not the end of the fight…"

**The Bronx**

"You need to stop this!" Doctor Strange spoke somewhat urgently to the Hood.

"To protect the weak?" the Hood glared back, "Never! The strong are to prey on the weak, and WE are the strong. It's clear when you're conjuring false images to deal with me."

The Hood then unleashed a bolt of lightning at Doctor Strange, who managed to get one protection spell in place to let the energy run through his cape and collect in Eye of Agamotto. He hoped that if true push came to shove he could use that energy on the Hood, or whichever Dark Dimension creature was using him, but that would only be a last resort.

"This has nothing do with your perceptions on the legality of crime," Doctor Strange cringed, feeling some of the electricity from the Hood's attack.

He made a couple of specific hand gestures to extend tendrils of magical energy to reach for the Hood's cloak. While he didn't like it, he was not surprised to see the Hood match him move for move. The Hood's magic crackled like electricity, but it did enough to keep Doctor Strange at a slight distance.

"The Hood you wear… the power you've used," Doctor Strange answered, "THAT is what you must stop!"

"I need to give you the one thing that's enabling me to ensure the strong rule over weaklings like you and clowns like Arachno-boy?!"

"You don't understand," Doctor Strange answered, "They have their origins in the Dark Dimension. They are not of this world, and at present, the more you use your powers the weaker the barrier between our world and the Dark Dimension becomes! If that happens, everything on Earth would be in jeopardy, including you!"

The Hood glanced to see Captain America and Ronin charging forward to aid Doctor Strange. He only extended his power from one hand to push against Doctor Strange and turned his other hand to them. Both heroes gasped as they found themselves gripped by the Hood's powers and lifted into the air.

"This hood is what gives me power! I will not let you take it from me!" the Hood roared and poured more power into the tendrils trying to push against Doctor Strange.

Doctor Strange cringed and pushed back with all of his magic. The Hood had him on the edge, and with the rest of the Avengers dealing with their respective foes, he didn't have the help to distract his opponent.

"That hood and its powers don't belong here," Doctor Strange answered, "It will eat you alive, and you cannot hide it from me! The Eye of Agamotto sees all!"

Knowing he had no choice, Doctor Strange opened the eye and used it to channel the magic the Hood used earlier back at him. It succeeded in knocking the Hood back into the bar area and made him drop Captain America and Ronin.

"Is there anything you can do to stop him?" Captain America asked.

"We've got the hood off of him," Doctor Strange panted.

It soon became clear that the Hood wouldn't be obliging as a deep and demonic voice roared from the bar area.

"THIS HOOD IS MINE!"

A giant pulse of energy then threw all of the Avengers and unconscious SVU members against the far wall as the Hood returned, but now in the insect and machine mixed demonic form that the Hood took on against Wolverine.

"Hate demons," Wolverine grumbled.

"And I will make you all pay!" the Hood roared again and lifted his talons to disembowel all of the Avengers in one fell swoop when power suddenly erupted out of him.

"No…" Doctor Strange said slowly.

"What is it?" Spider-Man asked nervously.

"Whatever being that gave the Hood his powers from the Dark Dimension has gained the power to cross over into OUR dimension," Doctor Strange answered, "And that is what we will have to fight. The Hood, himself, is now unimportant."

"Hello… we got a what… eight foot demon right there!" Luke Cage pointed as he got up.

"Who has allowed a more powerful demon to cross over," Doctor Strange countered.

The power the Hood was giving off then took the roof off of the bar and created a massive circle that could be seen for miles in all directions. Doctor Strange only looked up in horror as a lone figure; standing one hundred feet tall emerged from the other side of the portal that the Hood had just opened. His head was surrounded by fire and was well known to the master of mystic arts.

As he emerged, the Hood dropped to the ground in exhaustion and returned to his human form… but he was unimportant. The one who empowered the Hood then spoke his great announcement to all that could hear.

"I am Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension and Earth," Dormammu spoke in a clear and authoritative voice.

**To Be Continued…**

"**All Power, each Tyrant, every Mob**

**Whose head has grown too large,**

**Ends by destroying its own job**

**And works its own discharge."**

_Rudyard Kipling, English writer and poet, "The Benefactors" (1919)_


	6. Successes and Escapes…

All characters appearing in Avengers and other Marvel titles are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee, and are owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. All real persons mentioned in this story belong to themselves. No infringement of these copyrights or offense to the people mentioned is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder or persons. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: This story is my sequel to "Civil War" in the Captain America section and takes place immediately after that story. I had initially thought this would be the last chapter for Initiative... but I got to a point where I figured that going through to the end of the battle would make it too long... so for the moment, this the next to last chapter...

Initiative

By TVfan

**Chapter 6: Successes and Escapes…**

**The Bronx**

"I am Dormammu!" the great demon seemingly wrapped in fire announced as he made his appearance on the face of the Earth, "Ruler of the Dark Dimension and Earth!"

On the ground, Avengers: Blue Team gathered nervously at the feet of the tyrant from the Dark Dimension. They had largely beaten the Hood's gang and strained the Hood, but the appearance of Dormammu was not a good sign. Even Luke who didn't typically deal with anything like the powerful magic user could see that his presence was not good. To make matters worse, while the Hood's magic had been exhausted after finally reaching the point where he could bring Dormammu to Earth, he was still conscious and still armed.

"This is bad," Doctor Strange stated clearly, "Very bad indeed."

"How did he…" Luke Cage gasped as he looked up at what had just emerged and was for the moment uninterested in what was beneath him.

"Is there anything we can do to stop him?" Cap demanded sounding fairly insistent.

"It was as I feared," Doctor Strange said slowly, "the Hood in his quest for power for criminals has made a bargain with Dormammu… likely for the hood that he wears. In doing so, the Hood has been wielding Dormammu's power in OUR dimension."

"And let me guess," Spider-Man said nervously, "Doing so weakened the walls between our world and wherever you had Dormammu locked up."

Doctor Strange slowly nodded.

"Can we stop him?" Wolverine asked.

"Not by ourselves," Doctor Strange answered, "Dormammu is far more powerful than I am and I've only been able to beat him by engaging him before he was at full strength… in a situation where his power is weakened… or with the help of other magic users like Clea. We will need help."

Cap was about to say something more when a great blast of fire suddenly landed among the Avengers there. Spider-Man managed to leap free before it landed, but the others were all sent by a powerful shockwave that threw them about the room. The only Avenger not seemingly touched was Doctor Strange.

"Doctor Strange," came Dormammu's voice from above them, "It is most amusing to find you here waiting for me…"

"A shame I cannot say the same for you," Doctor Strange answered and moved his arms, preparing to try and cast a spell that would reverse the polarity of the portal that the Hood had opened. If he could do that, Doctor Strange figured he could at least force Dormammu back into the Dark Dimension.

Dormammu, however, noticed this and stretched a massive hand down and raised a golden glow around it. Soon after that, Doctor Strange found himself imprisoned in a golden orb and beginning to float up toward Dormammu.

"Please, Doctor," Dormammu gave a wicked smile, "Your orbs, wands, and talismans are not with you. I know that… and your allies… they are not versed in magic or anything that could presently harm me. This world is mine."

Doctor Strange felt beads of sweat going down his face as he was lifted up so that he was looking directly into Dormammu's flaming eyes. Fear and concern went through his entire being, as the Hood's scheme had unleashed a foe that no one other than himself could counter, and Doctor Strange knew that even he needed help at times.

"May the Ancient One come to our aide in some way…" Doctor Strange said slowly, hoping for a miracle.

On the ground, the Hood watched as Dormammu began to actually leave the area around the bar that had now been completely wrecked by the battle, but it had left him in fairly good shape. While much of his union was unconscious on the ground and for the moment his powers felt like they had been drained, but the Avengers were practically at his mercy. Dormammu had taken Doctor Strange and the rest were trying to recover from Dormammu's blast of fire.

"And now to be through with the Avengers," the Hood gave a smile as aimed his guns directly toward Luke Cage's head, "First you and then… wait… where's…?"

The Hood then looked up to see Spider-Man coming down from above him. He caught several web-balls in the face. He gave frustrated scream, tried to transform into his demon form, but couldn't. He then dropped his gun and instinctively began to pull on the webbing on his face. This only got more web-balls hitting him and now webbing his hands to his face. By this time, Spider-Man came down and landed a strong punch that finally knocked the Hood out.

"All your power and all your ego… but you're still a dirty crook, Hood," Spider-Man said down to the unconscious crook, too preoccupied by the fact that a being from another dimension had just carried off a different member of Blue Team to make a joke. He then looked up to Cap, "What do we do? The Flaming Dork took Doctor Strange."

"We have to get him free," Cap vowed as he came forward.

"But how, Cap?" Ronin asked carefully, "Doctor Strange even said that HE couldn't defeat Dormammu on his own."

"We may not have magic… but I'm certain that we can still cause him pain," Iron Fist said slowly.

"Just hit him harder?" Wolverine questioned, and then shrugged, "Doesn't sound like too bad a plan… though… how are we gonna get close enough to his head?"

"Dude… we ain't got the power to scratch him!" Luke Cage answered, "He's a hundred feet tall!"

"And knows magic," Spider-Man added.

"But we have Doctor Strange on our side," Iron Fist answered, "all we need to do is distract him so that he releases the Doctor. Then the Doctor can use his magic to suck Dormammu back into his own dimension."

"It's the best shot we have," Cap then spoke with a sigh, "We want to try and keep him from getting into Manhattan… Maybe let him get to the river and then keep him pinned in it…"

The members of Blue Team rapidly gathered around their leader. Cap then turned to Spiderwoman who was brushing dust off the sleeves of her costume.

"Can you get ahead of him?" Cap asked.

"Sure… but my venom blasts aren't going to do much to him," Spiderwoman answered, "Not unless you got something that can amplify my powers…"

"What about your pheromones?" Ronin wondered, "can't you get him… you know…"

"Ewww!" Spiderwoman protested, "And that's more of a hit and miss thing. Arachne and I have very little control over that… and I don't think a demon from another dimension is going to respond like a human male…"

"We don't have any choice," Cap said firmly, "You're the fastest out of all of us. You must get ahead of him and slow him down. We'll be right behind you."

Spiderwoman then watched as Cap then pulled a small communicator from his pocket.

"And we're going to get Red Team to come in and help too," Cap answered, "Doctor Strange was right… Dormammu's actions are too big for us to face alone. ALL of the Avengers will be needed!"

"What about the Hood?" Wolverine asked for a moment.

"Forget him," Cap answered, "If we don't stop Dormammu… we lose the world."

Spiderwoman gave a heavy sigh while the rest of Blue Team ran on.

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

Iron Man and read team, meanwhile were in a bit of a pickle of their own. They had figured out that Aleksander Lukin had been behind the attack in Boston, likely as some test of the Cosmic Cube and had moved to arrest him. They made it to the Kronas Office okay, but from there nothing went right. Lukin had grown fairly adept at using the cube and had split Avengers: Red Team up. Many of those fights were being won, but Iron Man had no idea how the others were doing, or if Lukin was caught.

"How shall we find this man?" Hercules asked him as the two came out into a hallway littered with unconscious security personnel and wrecked equipment.

"I'd imagine we follow the carnage," Iron Man answered when he suddenly heard footsteps coming up from a different hallway. "Someone's coming!"

Iron Man and Hercules both readied themselves for a foe coming around the corner. However, it wasn't an enemy but at least part of the rest of Avengers: Red Team. Arachne, Black Widow, and Wonder Man came around the corner at a fairly high rate of speed.

"I take it you didn't get him?" Iron Man asked.

"No," Black Widow reported, "Lukin has gotten good at using the Cube… he's had us forced to duel with each other and when we broke his control… he vanished."

"We also feared he might have also captured Wasp and Ms. Marvel," Wonder Man added.

"Great," Iron Man grumbled, "that means all we have left is to follow the carnage and hope that it leads us to the fighting…"

Black Widow was about to report more a radio device in Iron Man's armor suddenly beeped.

"Great," Iron Man grumbled, "As if nothing else has gone wrong… Director Stark, Iron Man, what's going on?"

"Tony, it's Cap," came Captain America's voice over the radio.

A feeling of relief went through the Red Team members was visible, and Iron Man was quick to see if he could get some advice on how to deal with the Cosmic Cube.

"Cap!" Iron Man said quickly, "What… never mind… we could use some advice here."

Cap's answer, which cut him off took any relief that Iron Man felt.

"There's no time for that, Tony," Cap cut him off, "We need help… now."

The communication link that Cap was using then activated a series of video screens on the optics that Iron Man had in his helmet. None of the others could see it, but Tony inside his armor could. But what he saw was not something that Iron Man could think was any good. A figure looking like was wearing black leather and standing one hundred feet tall with his head on fire was walking down one New York City's streets and Iron Man thought he could see Doctor Strange held prisoner by this figure.

"Cap…" Iron Man said slowly.

"You remember that weird bank robbery you responded to, Tony?" Cap asked over the link.

"Yeah…"

"The guy who did it was a petty crook who got a magic hood from Dormammu," Cap answered, "and he just opened a portal that Dormammu just came through. We need your help desperately."

Inside his helmet, Tony's eyes widened in fear. It took him a few moments, but eventually he got enough together to make an answer.

"Cap… Red Team is not that much better off at the moment," Iron Man said nervously, "Lukin's had us on the ropes with the Cosmic Cube… I'm not sure we can do much."

"Forget Lukin!" Cap said urgently, "Dormammu is already here and I think he might be headed to try and get Doctor Strange's arcane artifacts. We'll all be defeated if he succeeds."

"I'll try," Iron Man said hesitantly.

"What's going on?" Wonder Man asked as the communications link shut off, "I heard Cap say something about Dormammu?"

"Who is Dormammu?" Arachne wondered.

"According to the files Doctor Strange has graciously given me… Dormammu is a powerful being from the Dark Dimension with powers beyond any human sorcerer," Iron Man answered, "and he's apparently been brought to Earth and is headed toward the Sanctum Sanctorum."

"As much as I'm sure you'll want to help," Black Widow said as tactfully as she could manage, "With Lukin likely holding Ms. Marvel, Wasp, and the Sentry prisoner at the moment, we have nothing that can stop him."

"We must do something…" Iron Man answered.

"We must stop Lukin FIRST," Black Widow answered, "It's tough, Tony, believe me… but if we rush off… with the powers of the cube, what's to say that Lukin doesn't rewrite New York to become his own little Kronas city… or worse what if he manages to rewrite history? The cube's powers are based on willpower. So long as Lukin can think of something, the cube is capable of responding…"

Iron Man let Black Widow's comment sink in while the others gave him some fairly concerned looks. Eventually something came to Iron Man's mind from what Black Widow spoke.

"That's it!" Iron Man stated suddenly.

"Fighting Lukin?" Black Widow asked.

"No," Iron Man answered, "We'll be fighting Dormammu with Cap's team… but we'll either get the cube from Lukin or make some attempt to get Lukin to join the fight against Dormammu."

The gasps of surprise were clearly audible. Iron Man didn't give them a chance to argue as he began to walk over the rubble and unconscious Kronas agents that had been left over from the Sentry's fight with the construct of the Void.

**SVU Safe House, Elsewhere in Bronx**

Madame Masque followed John into a rundown apartment a few blocks away from the bar that had just been raided by the Avengers. John looked slightly nervous as he had no powers and was afraid that if the Hood's scheme had attracted the attention of the Avengers there was a good chance they'd come after him to.

"We made it," John said slowly as he shut his door and locked it quickly.

Madame Masque looked around the room and found it desperately lacking. The furniture was very poor and Madame Masque could smell something that gave an indication to her that John didn't get to a laundromat very frequently. While Madame Masque had lost a lot of the wealth she had enjoyed as Whitney Frost and the Kingpin had broken the Maggia in New York and she couldn't rely on the organization's wealth, she was not used to the poor conditions that John lived in.

"Yes," Madame Masque said slowly, "We did…"

She looked back to John standing nervously near the door.

"No one followed us," Madame Masque answered in a very scolding tone, "the more you go around like a rat expecting the cat or the snake to catch it… the more suspicious your neighbors will be."

John finally sighed and moved over to a tattered couch and set the duffel bag full of money that was his take from the bank robbery. Madame Masque only walked a few more paces and set her bag down near an interior door. She glanced down at the bag for a moment. The fact that they had escaped the Avengers with money from a major bank was a victory that not even petty thugs had accomplished.

"Hopefully Parker gets through it okay," John said nervously, half to himself and half to Madame Masque.

"With all his power, you're worried about his survival?" Madame Masque wondered in almost amazement.

"His power is the hood and he didn't always have it," John answered, "before he got it… Parker and I were just a couple of petty thugs that got our butts handed to us by even the weakest superheroes."

"And with it he's proven be a force that no one can match," Madame Masque answered, "and quite different from other crime bosses I've dealt with. He stayed to fight the Avengers and let us get away…"

Madame Masque intended for that line to give the sniveling assistant some courage, but as she made her way into what was the kitchen, she was soon caught by a fiery glow coming from the general area of the bar that they had just been told to flee. She went to the window and looked out to see if the battle was visible. As she could see a dark figure standing above the old and rundown apartment buildings of the area and he seemed to be surrounded by fire. The figure, however, wasn't the Hood, Madame Masque knew that. But, the figure did scare her. She soon turned around and was about to head out of the apartment.

"Where are you going?" John asked as he saw Madame Masque head for the door, "Parker told us to STAY here until he came back."

"And I'm going to get him back, as I think something bigger than him might have grabbed him," Madame Masque answered, "and unless you've gained powers like the Hood's… you'll stay here."

"What is it?" John wondered nervously.

"A giant man on fire," Madame Masque answered, "And I'm only going to get our people out."

And with that, Madame Masque headed out.

**The Bronx, With Dormammu**

Doctor Strange, meanwhile, pressed as hard as he could against the golden cage that Dormammu had him in. He even tried a series of blasts of raw magic to push against the energy that held him prisoner. None of it worked and Dormammu continued to carry him along as he headed in a southward direction from the bar that had been wrecked by the battle with the Hood. He had some great fear at the fact that his great enemy had gained entry into Earth from the Dark Dimension, but some of what Dormammu was doing was odd to him. With his power, Doctor Strange expected Dormammu to launch a massive attack, using magic to overpower anything and everything and unleashing a horde of mindless ones take on anything that his magic didn't defeat or kill. But that hadn't happened.

"It feels marvelous to finally have you at my mercy, Stephen Strange," Dormammu said with a great smile, "You and your mentor have been thorns in my side for far too long."

"Your rule here will not be welcomed," Doctor Strange answered, "and I doubt that crook you tricked will entirely welcome your rule…"

Dormammu only laughed, "The Hood? No, I did not trick him. Yes, I needed him to gain entrance to Earth, but I did not trick him… I didn't even need to trick him. The poor little street punk thought that criminals had the right to rape, murder, and steal from people and was so desperate for the power that he willingly agreed to be my agent on Earth in exchange for the right to rape, murder, and steal… which will suit my purposes…"

That gave Doctor Strange some answers as to what the demon's plans where. The Hood and the SVU were to replace the mindless ones, on Earth anyway. He didn't know if many of the human criminals knew the truth of the Hood's bargain with Dormammu, but he also figured that they might ultimately be upset by it. That, though, wouldn't matter. The Avengers had largely beaten the SVU members they had encountered.

"You can't win… someone will stop you…" Doctor Strange vowed, knowing it wasn't much, but it was the best he could manage.

"I know you've suspected my presence and my actions," Dormammu answered with a chuckle, "Though I suspected you to still be dealing with Baron Mordo…"

Doctor Strange only watched slowly as Dormammu continued walking toward Manhattan and the river that separated the Bronx from Manhattan. He then glanced back to Dormammu, who actually looked amused by something.

"But yet even in the Dark Dimension I could feel a strange magic spreading around your world and growing in power, as if in anticipation of my arrival," Dormammu continued, "So I must commend you on your efforts to try and stop me… but you've failed as you didn't have your magic ready and now I will go to where that magic's power is centered and then I will take it as my own."

This only left Doctor Strange even more puzzled. He had suspected that there was something odd, as he had felt the Hood receiving his hood from Dormammu, but all he had felt was the crossing of the dimensional barrier between Earth and the Dark Dimension. However, that did not mean that had created some magic that was growing in power and encircling the globe to act as a shield from what he had sensed. Dormammu at his full strength was stronger than Doctor Strange could ever hope to be and anything that Doctor Strange could have done in preparation would only work if Dormammu's means of crossing the barrier left him weak. And while many of the other beings that were threats from the Dark Dimension were powerful, they were not on par with Dormammu. Something might very well be protecting the Earth, but Doctor Strange knew that he didn't create it.

"How do you know I haven't laid a trap for you?" Doctor Strange questioned, "If you've sensed me raising this shield… how do you know it's not a trap… something that will draw you in and contain you?"

"Because that's not how you operate," Dormammu answered, "and even if it was… it isn't ready yet."

Dormammu then looked straight to Doctor Strange and narrowed his eyes. Almost immediately, the golden orb began to tighten around Doctor Strange began to tighten around him. He was soon pushed to his knees as it got tighter around him.

"Am I right?" Dormammu questioned, "Or have you changed your modus operendi?"

Unable to hold off the force field around him, Doctor Strange caved, "Yes… yes… it's not ready yet."

"And so your bluff fails," Dormammu gave a confident smile and continued on.

Dormammu did not increase the size of the orb and left Doctor Strange in a very uncomfortable position and continued heading south. He finally made it until he was block from the river that he would need to cross on his way toward the source of the power he sensed. He took a couple of steps when he felt a blast of energy hit him in the back of head. It wasn't powerful enough to really hurt him. It felt more like a small pinprick, and Dormammu could quickly tell that the attack was with a biological energy, not arcane.

"Who dares…?!" Dormammu began as he stopped and turned to face what had hit him.

All it availed Dormammu was a large venom blast hitting him squarely in the face. Again it barely hurt, but caught by surprise, he squeezed his eyes shut as Spiderwoman arrived on the scene and moved to the orb to try and get Doctor Strange out of it.

"Don't worry Doc, I'll get you out of there in a second," Spiderwoman promised

She began to build up a charge for another venom blast when Dormammu recovered from her attacks and noticed her presence.

"Look out!" Doctor Strange yelled to her.

Spiderwoman turned to see the fire around Dormammu's head grow in size and see that the giant demon was looking directly at her, and he did not look happy. With a great growl, the fire around Dormammu grew greater and larger and Spiderwoman was forced to move away just avoid being cooked by the heat. She then directed her venom blast into Dormammu's face as he then reached to try and grab her. She only barely managed to fly out of his reach.

"That was incredibly stupid, woman," Dormammu said in a low and threatening voice.

"That was an attempt at distraction," Spiderwoman answered.

"For what?" Dormammu shot back, "You hold no magic whatsoever and your little blasts cannot harm me."

"For this!" came another voice from behind him.

Dormammu glanced back to be hit in the ear by what looked like a manhole cover. It hurt a little and made him focus more on who had attacked him now. He looked to see Spider-Man with two great strands of webbing on a couple of light poles and had another manhole cover in the middle of it, like it was a giant slingshot. He also looked to see Captain America, Wolverine, Ronin, and Luke Cage coming up quickly to join him. The only Avenger who appeared to be missing was Iron Fist.

"And what is this?" Dormammu asked, placing one hand on his hip and sounding almost amused by the sight.

Spider-Man only let the manhole cover go and his improvised slingshot sent the manhole cover flying. This time Dormammu dodged it and dodged it easier.

"It would appear, arachnid that you have not gotten any smarter since our last encounter," Dormammu commented, "Fitting though that you're again trying to save Doctor Strange… though your efforts are futile."

"You've fought him before?" Luke Cage asked in a surprised voice.

"No," Spider-Man answered, "Let's just say he'd made an attempt with an army of mindless ones and hoped we'd fight them in a way that he could manipulate from his end. Doctor Strange was the one who fought him. I only got in the way… It's a long story and if we survive this, I'll tell you later."

Luke Cage shrugged and watched Cap step forward.

"I don't know what your plan for Earth is… beyond conquest… but you must know that we won't just stand by and let you conquer us!" Cap stated clearly.

"And how will you stop me?" Dormammu questioned.

Cap responded by throwing his shield at Dormammu aiming for the inside of the giant's knees. Dormammu dodged it, but unseen to him, the shield bounced off a building and went up. By this time, Iron Fist had arrived and moved close enough to leap into the air. He caught the shield and readied it with the same chi focus he used to achieve the 'iron fist.' He landed on Dormammu's back and then climbed up and rushed toward the demon's head. Dormammu glanced back only to see Iron Fist slam Cap's shield into his cheek. Iron Fist felt the heat, but thanks to his training and manipulating his chi, he was able to just avoid being cooked by the flames. And in fact, he swore he could hear a bone in Dormammu's face crack as he landed the blow.

After landing the blow, Iron Fist made the leap all the way down to land gracefully next to Cap. He then handed the shield back to the star spangled Avenger.

"Through teamwork," Cap said firmly.

Dormammu only boiled over in a rage, "GNATS! INSECTS! YOU DARE STRIKE ME?!"

He had humored these lesser beings when they had a prospect of amusing him or allowing him to toy with them, but that blow had put an end to that. And the fire around him erupted everywhere, engulfing buildings and surrounding the Avengers in them. The flames then created what would serve as a small scale battle arena where Dormammu hoped to make Doctor Strange watch the complete destruction of his allies.

**Kronas Office, Queens, New York City**

Ms. Marvel watched on in horror and surprise as the Sentry screamed in pain as the cosmically created machine drained him of his powers. She didn't think the Sentry had what it took to be an Avenger, but she had expected him to make some sort of mental mistake. That he would either go nuts or do something stupid. But then, it also appeared that they had underestimated Lukin's ability to either anticipate what would happen or at least respond with the cosmic cube's powers. As she looked on, she heard a small groan and looked over to see Wasp beginning to regain consciousness.

"Ung… what happened?" Wasp as she slowly got herself up to a sitting position, though she still had to keep her legs under her, "I remember trying to get the cube from Lukin and then… then… it was like I had to defend 'my nest' from attackers…"

"He turned you into a giant wasp and had you attack us," Ms. Marvel answered the other 'classic' Avenger, "and it hasn't gotten any better."

Wasp then raised an eyebrow and then looked at the metal prison she and Ms. Marvel and then the energy bars around them. While she was certain she could shrink down and escape the metal cage, but the energy cage looked like they were close enough that at her smaller size that she couldn't escape. She briefly considered growing to her giant size, but then realized that she'd probably crush and kill Ms. Marvel before the bars would break.

"Can you reach the energy bars?" Wasp asked, "Absorb their power and then hurl it at them?"

"No," Ms. Marvel gave a grown, "and our cage is presently the least of our worries."

Wasp raised an eyebrow, but Ms. Marvel only pointed. She looked out beyond their prison to see Lukin sitting calmly in what looked like some sort of 'Star Trek captain's chair' and holding the Cosmic Cube in one hand. Behind him on the roof of his building was a large satellite dish that seemed to glow with the same shade of blue that the cube was glowing. That however, wasn't what scared Wasp the most. What scared her was the sight of the Sentry in some sort of strange machine that was holding him in a position that he looked like a capital letter 'x' and was making him scream with pain.

"What is he doing to him?" Wasp gasped.

"I'm pretty sure he's draining the Sentry of his powers," Ms. Marvel answered, "and if he can do that… what else can he do?"

Lukin, meanwhile, kept his focus on the depowering of the Sentry. The hero was among the most powerful on Earth and it was unlikely that he could kill man. But, he could strip the Sentry of his powers and add them to the powers he had with the cube. That would finally allow him to gain some justice for all the suffering that he had seen and endured.

"Lukin! Stop this! You're killing him!" Wasp screamed from where he had the other two Avengers imprisoned.

"If he dies, it is his own fault for siding with a system that lets murders and tyrants like the Red Skull walk free," Lukin answered.

Wasp never answered as a more mechanical voice answered him.

"You know full well that the situation was far more complicated than you've mentioned," came Iron Man's voice.

Lukin turned to see Iron Man landing on the roof near him with Arachne, Black Widow, Wonder Man, and Hercules.

"One does not make deals with evil, Iron Man," Lukin answered, "One fights it. And you and your team made the wrong choice!"

He then fired a blast of energy from the cube, hoping to destroy Iron Man in one shot. The others around him dodged away and Iron Man lifted up into the air. Iron Man then fired his repulsor rays at the chair that Lukin was seated in. Lukin only raised the roof up to absorb Iron Man's attack.

"In a perfect world, you'd be absolutely right," Iron Man answered, "but the world is all too imperfect. If it were, the Nazis would have never existed and the wrongs you're seeking to avenge would never be an issue."

"But with the cube I can make the world perfect," Lukin gave a smile, "I'll remove you as the Skull's tools and I'll incarcerate him on his island, never able to leave it! And the world will thank me for it!"

The section of the roof that Lukin had raised as a shield soon turned into a metal pterosaur by the cube's powers and prepared to fly up at Iron Man. It made a few short wing beats when two strands of webbing caught its wings and then pulled back to the ground. Lukin turned to see Arachne holding those weblines. Black Widow then vaulted over Spider-Man's partner and blew the construct apart with shots from a rifle she had liberated from one of his security personnel. This actually surprised him as his powers should have been greater than that.

"What the?" Lukin wondered when his cube started to flicker.

He then turned around to see that Wonder Man and Hercules had both made it to the satellite dish that was amplifying the cube's powers. Hercules had actually removed part of the satellite dish's outer covering and Wonder Man had disconnected several wires.

"Get away from there!" Lukin demanded and pointed the cube at them.

The piece of the satellite dish's exterior suddenly gained weight. Hercules struggled to hold it up, but after a few moments the piece he was holding was too heavy for him to stand and he was pushed to the ground by it. It didn't kill him, but Hercules was unable to push it off of him. At the same time, the wires that Wondor Man had pulled had also came to life with a blue glow and soon wrapped around him like they were snakes.

"You've all bitten off more than you can chew," Lukin growled, "you hide behind things being complicated and then do nothing good… I will…"

Lukin was unable to finish as a repuslor ray hit him in the back and sent him flying. The blast knocked the cosmic cube out of his hand. He gave a frightened cry as it flew through the air, only to be caught by a strand of webbing and was soon yanked away. When he looked up, he saw Arachne holding the cube. He was somewhat puzzled when the red haired heroine didn't crush it. Instead, Arachne seemed to be looking toward the Sentry, Ms. Marvel, and Wasp.

"Just think about releasing them from their prisons," Iron Man instructed, "that's how the cube works."

"Right," Arachne nodded.

Lukin watched as the devices draining the Sentry of his powers vanished and the other captured Red Team members were released. Black Widow caught the Sentry and Ms. Marvel and Wasp made a beeline for Lukin. To Lukin's greater surprise, Iron Man stopped them.

"We can't hurt him," Iron Man stated.

"He turned me into an insect!" Wasp protested, "An INSECT!"

"He nearly killed the Sentry!" Ms. Marvel added, "Him and that cube need to go!"

"Eventually," Iron Man nodded, "but that moment is not now."

This only puzzled Lukin further. In a matter of minutes he'd been outmaneuvered and lost the weapon that allowed him to be in the position to win the fight to begin with. He expected to be brutally punished for not fitting into idea of America where only the rich mattered. And yet Iron Man… Tony Stark… was blocking that. Eventually Iron Man turned around to face Lukin who slowly managed to get back to his feet.

"Okay… you've beaten me," Lukin grumbled, "that still does not make you right."

"I'm sure," Iron Man said slowly, "You still think you're in the right by doing what you've done?"

Lukin only glared back defiantly.

"Look," Iron Man continued, "We know you had it rough and you're wanting to correct things that you see as wrong… on some level you could even say that we're all on the same side…"

"I do not follow evil," Lukin shot back.

"From your point of view, you don't," Black Widow answered, "but you're quite willing to put a lot of people through hell to achieve what you see as 'good.' Remember… I KNOW what you and the KGB had done with the Winter Soldier."

"You want to prove you're good, don't you?" Iron Man asked, "instead of fighting us… why not use the cube against someone who really is evil!"

"That's what I have done," Lukin shot back, "My cube and my company will imprison the Red Skull on his island and he'll never threaten anyone!"

"But he's not attacking right now," Iron Man answered, "and the force that is attacking is just as powerful as the Red Skull."

"Huh?" Wasp, Ms. Marvel, and Sentry asked practically all at the same time.

Iron Man only raised a hand and pointed to the chair that Lukin had been seated in. He then channeled the images from his communications link with Cap to project the image there for all to see. It showed Dormammu carrying off Doctor Strange and flames seeming to follow him.

"What are…?" Lukin began

"That is Dormammu carrying off Doctor Strange," Iron Man answered, "He's a tyrant from another dimension and is surely here for conquest."

"Iron Man…" Ms. Marvel said slowly, "How did you…?"

Iron Man inwardly sighed as her voice carried a great deal of confusion in it. He then began to slowly explain the overall situation.

"Back during the issues directly related to the Registration Act, I responded to a bank robbery in which a strange man in a hood and Madame Masque robbed the back and did serious damage in doing so," Iron Man said slowly, "The attack also carried the residue of 'otherworldly energy' about it. The criminal who did it apparently made a deal with Dormammu and is called the Hood."

"And he's brought this Dormammu here?" the Sentry asked.

"Yes," Iron Man nodded, "Cap's team has been trying to catch the Hood and I think they did beat him… but not before he could summon Dormammu."

"And what does all this have to do with me?" Lukin demanded.

"A bit of a plea bargain," Iron Man answered, "You can't win. Even if you still had the cube we'd still beat you… but Dormammu's powers in magic are greater than Doctor Strange's and defeating him, while possible would potentially destroy the city in the process."

"So you need the cube to fight this demon?" Lukin questioned with some of his defiance returning.

"Yes," Iron Man said slowly, "and if you agree… I work with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lawyers to get the charges for the attacks on US businesses reduced and you will get the chance to make the

'argument' that you were trying to do good… or you can insist on fighting us, we'll take the Cube and you'll be arrested for fighting an undeclared war against the United States… and that's if Dormammu doesn't kill you in his attempt at conquest."

Lukin looked among the Avengers. Wonder Man had pulled himself out of the wires and had helped get Hercules free. Their faces looked calm and determined, though it didn't look like Hercules entirely trusted him. The Sentry, Ms. Marvel, and Wasp looked firm and at least antagonistic, if not outright hostile. Black Widow looked firm and suspicious while Arachne's face was a bit tougher to read. All that Lukin could see were her lips, but since they weren't in a smile or any sort of 'seductive' posture that would be expected from a super model, he expected the new heroine to be suspicious of him as well. Iron Man was completely unreadable as all Lukin see on his 'face' was his own reflection on the golden armored face mask of Iron Man's helmet.

"Very well," Lukin said slowly, and doing little to hide the defeat in his voice, "I will help you…"

"Okay then," Iron Man then nodded.

Lukin glanced to see Arachne step forward with the cube in her hands. As she got closer he reached out for it again, and as soon as his fingers could feel the energy radiating off of the cube, Black Widow spoke up in a word of warning.

"And if you betray us in any way, you will seriously regret doing so," Black Widow said firmly.

"We'll deal with that after the devil's demise," Lukin retorted and took the cube back into his hands, "Now stand close. The satellite dishes will amplify my cube's powers to help keep the Red Skull contained… so I'm sure getting us all there should be easy."

The Red Team Avengers gave short glances and finally moved closer to him as a ball of electric blue energy surrounded all of them. After only a moment, the rooftop at the Kronas building in Queens was empty.

**The Bronx, With Dormammu**

Moving toward the Harlem River and ultimately to the power that he sensed was now completely forgotten as Avengers: Blue Team had succeeded in making far too much of a nuisance of itself. They couldn't truly hurt him seriously, but they were proving difficult to catch, and their teamwork managed to allow them to land blows that Dormammu did have to admit hurt him at least a little.

The worst of them was Spider-Man. He bounced around the buildings, easily crossing the street and smothering flames, both on Dormammu's body and on the outside of buildings with his webbing. With that, Dormammu made his main effort to try and capture the web slinging superhero. But every attempt seemed to end in failure. It was as if Spider-Man could sense his attacks.

"AAARRRRGGGH!" Dormammu gave a frustrated growl as he slammed a fist down trying to catch Spider-Man as he leaped between buildings.

Spider-Man responded by curling into a ball while still in midair and the blow missed him, though only just barely. As the giant fist went past him, Spider-Man uncurled himself and fired a massive amount of webbing down to hold Dormammu's hand down. It wouldn't last long, but it was just enough for Ronin and Wolverine to charge and slash at the exposed hand. Wolverine took off a thumb and Ronin's sword took off a pinky finger. Dormammu gave some roar of pain as he then backed off, ripping his hand free and pulling some of the webbing with him.

"Well… that hurt him…" Spider-Man said slowly.

"Not enough," Ronin said as they watched Dormammu regenerate the severed fingers.

"Nuts," Spider-Man said slowly as Dormammu sent a massive blast of fire down on them.

Spider-Man and Ronin managed to leap away, but the blast caught Wolverine directly. Both Avengers cringed as they heard a great scream of pain escape Wolverine's lungs as the flames pushed him down. The flames only stopped coming when Dormammu's arm was pushed to a side by Cap's shield. With that, Luke Cage ran into the fire and managed to grab Wolverine and carried him out. Luke emerged with his shirt burned off and his pants in tatters, but his impenetrable skin managed to withstand the flames. Wolverine, however, didn't look as good.

"We gotta think of a new strategy, Cap," Luke Cage said urgently, "he's gonna squash us eventually if we keep going like this. Wolverine is out of it until he can heal… and that looks like he'll be out for several hours…"

"And my venom blasts are at the low end of their ability to cause any damage," Spiderwoman said as she came in for a landing, "I'm barely tickling him now, and the orb he's got around Doctor Strange hasn't been damaged in any way."

Cap only gave a sigh. Things weren't going well, but he hoped that Iron Man would respond and would bring Red Team to their aid. Dormammu had to be after something and if he was allowed to get to it, things would be bad.

"Luke, can you get Logan to a spot where he can heal safely?" Cap asked.

"Yeah," Luke nodded.

"I'll cover you," Iron Fist volunteered.

"And then there were four," Spider-Man said slowly as Luke Cage left with Wolverine and Iron Fist.

"We've got to hold out until Tony can get here with Red Team," Cap answered, "We can't let him get to wherever he's going."

"I'm going to crush you!" Dormammu spoke in a triumphant voice and raised a foot above them while wrapping it in fire.

Spider-Man fired a webline out and grabbed Cap by an arm and swung up and away. Spiderwoman dove forward and practically tackled Ronin and then flew up. Dormammu's foot ultimately missed crushing them, though only just barely, and the two sets of heroes ended up on the rooftops of buildings that were on opposite sides of the street with Dormammu between them.

"Doctor Strange is key to this," Cap said, "He can at least engage Dormammu in a way that can hurt him."

"Any idea on how to get him out of that orb?" Spider-Man asked, "Because in the couple of times I got close enough to punch it, all I got was a bad shock."

"Dormammu must be focused on keeping it up," Cap answered, "Can you distract him?"

"Sure, but how are you going to get up to the Doc?" Spider-Man asked back.

"When I give the signal, shoot me a line," Cap answered, "Now go!"

Spider-Man was soon off again and moved to actually swing around Dormammu. As he did so, he shot various weblines at the giant demon's legs, hoping to ensnare them. This met with some success, though not as much as Spider-Man would have helped.

"Worthless bugs!" Dormammu roared as his fires burned through some of Spider-Man's webbing, but as the arachnid themed hero fired more weblines, it didn't entirely free himself, "I'll burn you all!"

Dormammu turned to try and grab Spider-Man as he swung around only to catch several throwing stars hitting him in the hand. It didn't hurt him any more than a normal person would be hurt by a paper cut, but it was enough to get him to pull his hand back.

"If we were worthless, you wouldn't be tripping all over yourself trying to catch us!" Spiderwoman commented as she flew up and hit Dormammu in the face with a series of venom blasts.

Again, the attack didn't do him any real harm, but it was enough to force Dormammu to squeeze his eyes shut. This was what Cap was waiting for.

"Now, Spider-Man! Slingshot me to Doctor Strange!" Cap called.

Spider-Man headed Cap's call and swung back around and then fired a webline down toward Cap. Cap caught the line and leaped into the air. Once he felt Cap's weight pulling on the end of the line, Spider-Man pulled in the other direction. The result was very much like a slingshot, in the sense that the elasticity of Spider-Man's webbing hurled Captain America into the air. Using every bit of combat skill that he had, Cap rolled through the air and readied his shield. He eventually landed on top of the golden orb that was Doctor Strange's prison. As soon as he made contact, Cap felt a powerful shocking sensation, like being hit by a Taser line.

"We'll have you out shortly!" Cap said to Doctor Strange, "Don't worry!"

Inside the orb, Doctor Strange watched as Cap then raised his shield up and then brought the edge down on the orb. Even from the inside, he could see the energy flocking to that area like electricity, and he could see Cap gritting his teeth to hold back any scream of pain from the shocks he was taking. But even with his determination, Cap wouldn't be able to break through on his own. With the orb's energies focused on repelling Cap's attack, Doctor Strange readied his own attack from the inside of the orb, generating two daggers of his own magical energies and thrust them up on the other side of the orb where Cap's shield was. Again the orb reacted and Doctor Strange could also feel energy reverberating through him, but weakened by Cap's attack on one side, an opening rapidly formed and Doctor Strange took advantage of it to fly through and lifting Cap up with him as he escaped the orb.

"Well done, Captain," Doctor Strange spoke, "I had not thought you would be able to get Dormammu to back off from his goals and then keep him distracted for so long."

"We got a long way to go to stop him," Cap answered, "Is there any way you can send him back?"

"If we can get him BACK to the bar where the Hood summoned him, yes," Doctor Strange answered, "but that is where the problem is. We will need to at least render him unconscious first as I doubt he will go willingly."

As they reached the rooftop, Doctor Strange heard the confirmation of what he feared. Dormammu had recovered from Spider-Man's webs, Spiderwoman's venom blasts, and Ronin's throwing stars.

"Indeed, Doctor Strange," Dormammu rumbled, "You've all done far more than I'd expected from such weak mortals, but it is nowhere near enough to stop me! I will destroy you all and then I will collect the energies that Doctor Strange tried to raise to stop me."

"Huh?" Cap asked as he found himself looking between Doctor Strange and Dormammu.

Doctor Strange didn't answer, but as Cap looked up toward Dormammu he saw the sky above the demon's head begin to crackle with electric blue light.

**The Bronx, The Bar**

Madame Masque returned to the bar to find it a complete and utter wreck. The building was destroyed for all intents and purposes and members of the SVU that had been left to fight the Avengers were all unconscious. She also saw the Hood wrapped up in Spider-Man's webbing. But, as bad as it looked, it wasn't a complete loss. The Avengers weren't there, and the take from the bank robbery was still there.

"They're not here," Madame Masque said slowly and then heard some explosions in the near distance.

She looked up to see a great figure covered in fire standing a few blocks away, though she could only see the head above the buildings. Higher in the sky, beams of electric blue light was crackling through the air.

"And that's where the Avengers are," Madame Masque thought, "the Hood summoned something that they've had to fight on their own and letting us escape."

Madame Masque then pulled out a cellphone that she kept in her belt. She dialed a number and waited for the answer. Eventually she got an answer.

"Hello?" came the voice of Dr. Jonathan Ohnn, also known as the Spot, from the other end of the line.

"It's me," Madame Masque answered, "Get down here, Spot. The Avengers raided us as the last groups got their takes from the robbery in Newark."

"The Avengers?" Ohnn asked nervously.

"Yeah," Madame Masque answered, "The Hood called in something to fight them for us, but it took A LOT out of him. Get here so we can begin getting the rest of the Union and the takes OUT before the Avengers return."

Madame Masque then hung up and waited quietly. Barely a minute later, a black portal appeared and the Spot emerged from it. He looked around and then gulped.

"Wow," Spot said slowly.

"Forget awe," Madame Masque answered, "we need to get the Hood, the others, and their takes OUT!"

"Right," Spot answered, "Easily done. Where are we to go?"

"John's apartment," Madame Masque answered.

"Here we go, then," Spot replied.

Black portals then opened underneath the unconscious SVU members and the Hood, as well as underneath their takes. Then one opened underneath Madame Masque and the Spot. They all then dropped down into them and left the scene.

A few moments later, Luke Cage and Iron Fist arrived at the scene with the wounded Wolverine. The Canadian X-Man/Avenger was recovering, but he'd still need time to recover.

"Okay, I think we're at a spot that's safe enough," Iron Fist commented.

"Best to get him into the area where we originally come from before raiding the bar," Luke Cage answered, "Don't want one of the Hood's buddies to come and grab us while Wolverine's out cold."

Iron Fist nodded, "I'll help, let me get a head of you and we'll pass him along."

The two went about their work and tried avoid getting Wolverine to a safe place and didn't notice that the Hood and the other SVU members were no longer in the ruins of the bar where the fight had started.

**The Bronx, With Dormammu**

Dormammu was about to strike at Cap, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange when he suddenly sensed something above him. It was the same energy that he had sensed Doctor Strange spreading. Somehow it was coming to him, which was somewhat surprising. Strange had cast no spell to summon it, and given the level of Strange's powers, to make it 'self-thinking' would weaken any potential strength it would have against him. He had no time to figure that all out and only looked up to see blue electricity crackling in the sky above him.

Then with a great flash, Dormammu was forced to take a step back and was partially blinded. On the rooftops, Avengers: Blue Team was also blinded. When Cap could see again he saw Iron Man flying down toward him with Hercules hanging from his arms. The rest of Avengers: Red Team was with them, but that wasn't the biggest surprise. The biggest surprise was Lukin's presence with them. Ms. Marvel carried Lukin with one hand and Black Widow with the other.

"Lukin…?" Cap spoke, puzzled by the man's presence, "What are you…?"

"Doing here?" Lukin asked and then looked at Dormammu, "For the moment assisting in dealing with a great demon."

"It's a long story, but if what you said about Dormammu being at full strength is true, we'll need the cube's powers and that means Lukin."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Cap said slowly to Iron Man.

"Captain, you must know that I'm not about to let some monster like that take over the planet," Lukin answered, "Everything I've done has been done for a point of justice and fairness as I see it. Some demon from hell fits into the same list of enemies that I would place the Red Skull with."

Cap only scowled, as a lot of what Lukin had done didn't fit his idea of justice, but he decided to let it go. Dormammu was by far the bigger threat. And he was now aware of the arrival of the other team of Avengers.

"So, the energy wasn't Doctor Strange's work…" Dormammu mused, "But it is no matter… it is powerful and I will have it."

The group then looked up to see Dormammu send down a massive blast of fire down toward them all. Lukin raised his hand, and projected a great blue shield of energy that absorbed the blast, though Cap also noticed that Lukin was pushed back an inch or two.

"General… can you use the cube's powers to contain or at least engage him?" Doctor Strange questioned, "His powers are great… greater than even mine in magic."

"With the cube and my satellites amplifying its powers, I can do anything," Lukin boasted.

"Rendering him unconscious and returning him to a bar that he destroyed when first appeared should suffice," Doctor Strange told him, "from there we can send him back."

"And what if the cube isn't quiet powerful enough to do that easily?" Arachne wondered from where she stood, half scooting toward Spider-Man, "Suppose it's strong enough to kill this guy, but not strong enough to restrain him…"

"I'd prefer to hope for a solution where we don't come to that," Doctor Strange answered.

"I can hold him off!" Lukin said confidently and then pointed the cube toward the river.

The Avengers of both teams watched as water rose up into the air and took on the form of various Russian attack helicopter designs.

"What will you be doing?" Lukin then questioned.

"Readying the spell needed to send him back to where he came from," Doctor Strange answered and then vanished in a flash of purple light.

Dormammu, meanwhile, looked over the battlefield that was rapidly growing larger. He had essentially beaten Blue Team, and was now faced with Avengers: Red Team and Lukin. However, he still felt more powerful than all of them and wasn't about to let either team beat him. His first target would be Lukin. He would defeat the man and take the cube from him. Combined with his magic, he would then be unstoppable.

"It doesn't matter what your plans are," Dormammu gave a wicked smile and the fires around him burned brighter.

**To Be Continued…**

"**The enemy of my enemy is my friend."**

_Late 20__th__ Century Proverb, though it is also said to be an old Arab proverb_


	7. Heroism At Last…

All characters appearing in Avengers and other Marvel titles are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee, and are owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. All real persons mentioned in this story belong to themselves. No infringement of these copyrights or offense to the people mentioned is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder or persons. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: This story is my sequel to "Civil War" in the Captain America section and takes place immediately after that story. I had initially thought this would be the last chapter for Initiative... but I got to a point where I figured that going through to the end of the battle would make it too long... so for the moment, this the next to last chapter...

Initiative

By TVfan

**Chapter 7: Heroism At Last…**

**The Bronx**

"It doesn't matter what your plans are," Dormammu gave a wicked smile and the fires around him burned brighter, "I will crush you all!"

He then brought his fist down toward the building. He'd crush them all, and felt confident in doing so. He'd broken Avengers: Blue Team with Doctor Strange fleeing, Wolverine out cold and badly wounded and needing two members of his team to protect him. The rest of Blue Team was either tiring, as was the case with Spiderwoman, or simply couldn't hurt him seriously as was the case with Spider-Man, Captain America, and Ronin. But Red Team seemed to be new and fresh, and while they weren't a major threat, the real threat was the man who looked like he was dressed in a Soviet dress uniform. This man was Aleksander Lukin, the CEO of Kronas Industries and he had the cosmic cube. The device seemed to be exceedingly powerful, powerful enough to actually counter his magic. Dormammu had to strike quickly and take out this new factor before his whole plan came apart.

The present Avengers watched as the giant flaming fist began to come down toward them. The ones who could fly or quickly escape prepared to do so and take those that couldn't when Lukin raised the cosmic cube and projected a blue bubble that covered the rooftop as it was a shield. And it was the bubble that Dormammu's fist made contact with, sending shimmers of electric blue energy going around where the giant fist hit the bubble.

"This is your plan for taking him on?!" Ms. Marvel demanded, "project a bubble?"

"You'll excuse me, but he seems to be focused on us and is massive in size," Lukin answered, "I can't attack him with the cube when I can't get away from his attack."

Outside the bubble, two Russian attack helicopters made out of water flew toward the giant flaming demon that was Dormammu. They came within close range and seemed to fire rockets at the demon. Each helicopter grew slightly smaller as it fired, but continued to fire away. The water rockets hit Dormammu in the shoulder and chest and knocked him back, and the Avengers actually watched as the fires around him got weaker.

"And I am more than prepared to use other methods to take care of this demon," Lukin answered.

"And it looks like you hurt him," Spider-Man commented, "Hit him again!"

"Enough!" Dormammu roared, "You're all only delaying the enviable!"

With that he swung out one fist and sent a wave of hellfire through the air. Part of the wave hit the shield that Lukin had raised, and while the shield did protect them from being burned, it apparently couldn't stop the concussive force of the attack, and all of them were knocked backward by it. The wave then went out and evaporated what remained of the helicopters that Lukin had summoned from the river.

"We're going to need to more than just that," Captain America said slowly, "The cube is powerful… but strong magic can counter it and strong wills can resist it."

Lukin glared to the star spangled Avenger with some irritation. Much of what he'd done with the cube had been to correct the mistakes Cap made in dealing with the Red Skull. On some level, he accepted that Cap would agree with him on what was to ultimately be done with the Red Skull, but he also knew that Cap had allowed himself to play to other things in the wake of the issues with the Registration Act.

True he got the law repealed, but he never got a team to go after the Red Skull. The man who had presided over the slaughter of entire towns whose sole crime was that they had been within the borders of the Soviet Union. As much as Americans liked to mistakenly believe that the Soviet government was evil, they seemed to pay no attention to fact that not every Russian was a Communist and that the murders and atrocities that the Nazis committed would have been done regardless of whether or not the Soviet Union was a Communist state. There was blood on the hands of men like the Red Skull and on the hands everyone who stood by while the Soviets suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

And it had been Lukin's intention to win justice for all those that had needlessly perished, be it from the outright evil of the Nazis or the compliance on the part of others. It fueled his rivalry with America and with its heroes, but at present, Lukin couldn't afford to antagonize either team of Avengers. While he was supremely confident about taking on Dormammu with the cosmic cube, he could feel that the demon's power was great and that the cube shuddered silently when Dormammu's attacks hit it.

"And what would you suggest we do then?" Lukin questioned.

"Do something that would protect us from flames and allow us to distract him," Cap answered.

"A private shield…" Lukin mused, "and you'll then attack him?"

"To give you time to take him out," Cap answered.

"I don't need it," the Sentry commented.

"My own shielding should be enough for me," Iron Man added.

"I can absorb his energy and throw it back at him," Ms. Marvel replied.

Lukin nodded. He expected Hercules and Wonder Man to say something similar as far as he knew that they were also nearly indestructible, but then it was possible that they could be injured and couldn't instantaneously heal from the wound. He then held out the cube and pictured the Avengers wearing specialized device that would protect them from Dormammu's fires. This created a blue glow that wrapped around those that had said they weren't protected from the fire and a metal device soon appeared on and as part of their costumes. On Cap, it had filled the star that was on his chest. On Spider-Man and Arachne it was in the spiders that adorned their costumes. On Spiderwoman it was on the upper triangle on her chest. On Ronin it was on the gauntlets of his costume. On Black Widow, Hercules, and Wonder Man, it was on their belt-buckles. On Wasp it ran down gold section on the front of her costume.

"And you're all protected from his fire," Lukin spoke.

"And a good thing," Hercules commented, "For the beast has recovered from thine helicopters' attack!"

**The Bar**

Doctor Strange reappeared in the area around the wrecked bar to begin preparing things for what would be needed to remove Dormammu from Earth. The demon's plan had been a very effective one. Whatever the Hood's plans were, they were the plans of a common crook. There was nothing that was a true threat about him on his own, but being a common thug who was the victim of being beaten by other heroes, he was also quite willing to make deals with anyone who promised him power. Dormammu made the offer, and like the idiot that he was, the Hood jumped at the opportunity, but once on Earth and out of the Dark Dimension, whatever the Hood wanted was unimportant, as Dormammu would turn all of Earth into his own realm.

The air crackled with a very electric energy as Doctor Strange made his way through the grounds of the wrecked bar. Some of it was from the shocking energy from the battle going on to the south of the bar, where Dormammu's magic clashed with cosmic energies of the cosmic cube that Lukin wielded. The rest came from the exact spot where Dormammu emerged from the dimension where he had been previously held. The area had a clearly magical surge where the two dimensions had been weakened thanks to the Hood's using Dormammu's magic on Earth.

"Now… Eye of Agamotto… show me the exact nature of the spells used to cross the dimensional boundary…" Doctor Strange instructed to the talisman he wore at his collar and which also held his cloak on him.

And the Eye did show him. The barriers between the dimensions were weak and it wouldn't take to send Dormammu back, provided the cosmic cube could perfectly counter the abilities of Dormammu's magic. Repairing the barrier however, was a different issue. The way he had broken through the barrier was through the Hood's help. In order to repair the barrier, Doctor Strange would need at least part of the hood that the Hood wore. That made Doctor Strange sigh, as he could clearly see that the Hood and those the Avengers had knocked out earlier were gone.

Yet, not all of the magical signature that the Hood left behind was gone. Part of it was still in the ruins of the bar. That gave him some hope, as the Eye could still detect the 'scent' of the Hood's powers in the ruins. He was about to focus his search when Iron Fist arrived.

"Is something going on, Doc?" Iron Fist asked as he came forward.

"Mostly figuring out the way to send Dormammu back to portion of the Dark Dimension he was imprisoned in," Doctor Strange answered, "We have to send him back… his magic is too powerful to imprison him here… or in the Negative Zone…"

"Could he come back at all?" Iron Fist questioned.

"It is possible, but this attempted has taken a lot out of him… at present he is at full strength, but we must also remembered how he was able to cross into our dimension at full strength," Doctor Strange answered as he began scanning the ground of the destroyed bar, looking for a piece of the Hood's cloak.

"Parker Robbins… the Hood…" Iron Fist nodded, "but he isn't here…"

"The man is unimportant," Doctor Strange answered, "It's his hood… or at least part of it that we need. When Dormammu is sent back with it… the magic he used to give the Hood his powers will channel back at him… and will thus leave him greatly weakened and exhausted in the process."

Iron Fist nodded and looked about the floor. Eventually the flapping of a red piece of cloth underneath a piece of wooden debris caught Iron Fist's eye. It was the only red cloth that could be seen among the wrecked bar and Iron Fist moved quickly to it.

"Hey, Doc, I think I have it," Iron Fist announced and pulled the piece of red cloth free.

Doctor Strange turned and looked to it and the Eye buzzed where it was at his color. The cloth was indeed part of the Hood's hood. It had apparently ripped free when whoever came back for the Hood moved him.

"And indeed it is," Doctor Strange answered.

"So, what now?" Iron Fist asked.

"Now we prepare the spell to reopen the door that Dormammu opened," Doctor Strange answered and sent a telepathic command to Wong, who was back in the Sanctum Sanctorum. "Wong… please bring the Orb of Teleportation and the Talismans of the Dark Dimension. Hurry."

He soon heard Wong's response.

"At once, Doctor Strange," Wong replied telepathically, "Dormammu, I assume?"

"Yes," Doctor Strange answered.

**With Dormammu**

Dormammu was vastly annoyed with things as they unfolded. He had essentially beaten Avengers: Blue Team, but Avengers: Red Team had arrived with Lukin, and with the cosmic cube, Lukin had proved to be quite capable of hurting him. He was sure he could defeat the businessman, but also felt he needed to get the Avengers to back off until he'd finished off Lukin.

"I grow tired of your interference," Dormammu growled to the assembled Avengers, "and you shall burn in that interference!"

He then waved a hand and hundreds of Mindless Ones suddenly appeared on the ground and the rooftops around them. Several of them looked to Dormammu for a moment, as if waiting for orders.

"Go! Conquer!" Dormammu ordered.

Captain America only watched in horror as the Mindless Ones began to move off, almost in all directions. Three came at him directly. He ducked behind his shield as one fired a blast of fire from its lone eye.

"Tony…" Cap urged quickly, "You, Ms. Marvel, and Sentry help Lukin deal with Dormammu! The rest of us will deal with the Mindless Ones!"

"Right," Iron Man nodded, "You heard him, Avengers, Assemble!"

Cap rushed forward behind his shield until he caught up to the Mindless Ones that were attacking them. Their fire couldn't penetrate his shield, but he felt them push back hard against him when he finally rammed the shield into the head off the closest one. It reached around his shield in an attempt to wrestle it off of him. Cap used that to duck down and then slide underneath the Mindless One and the thrust his shield in an upward thrust hitting the Mindless One in the head and disorienting it. As the Mindless One struggled, Cap then launched a strong kick against its midsection while it was exposed in standing fully erect. The blow sent it falling from the roof of the building but left Cap open to the other two Mindless Ones.

One raised its hand to land a blow on Cap when Wonder Man came in with a flying kick against the Mindless One before it could even land the blow. That kick sent that Mindless One flying, and then allowed Wonder Man to grab the other Mindless One in a headlock.

"You know," Wonder Man commented as Cap drove his shield into the Mindless One he was holding, "When you and Tony decided to field two Avengers teams… I'd thought it would mean we wouldn't be working so closely together on the same cases…"

"We're still Avengers, regardless of the team," Cap answered, as the Mindless One that Wonder Man had been holding turned to dust. "The mission is always the same…"

"To stop the foes that no lone hero can stop themselves," Wonder Man nodded, and looked out to the north, "And we got a group of them headed north…"

"Probably to go after Doctor Strange," Cap answered, "Let's go!"

0-0-0

While Cap and Wonder Man turned to the three that were on the rooftop closest to them, Spider-Man, Arachne, and Spiderwoman leaped over the street and began to pursue a group of Mindless Ones that had gone down a street headed to the west from where they were. The three spider themed heroes were a little perplexed as to why they were headed down a side street.

"Shouldn't they be attacking someone?" Arachne asked, using her own normal voice, not the heavy accent she had faked earlier, as since she had revealed both herself and her husband during the issues with the Registration Act the use of the accent wasn't needed, "I mean he did say 'conquer,' right?"

"Yes… but conquest doesn't necessarily mean attacking every person in an area," Spiderwoman said with a shrug as she flew between Spider-Man and Arachne as they swung after the moving Mindless Ones.

"Yeah… but they're Mindless Ones," Spider-Man commented, "They generally aren't smart enough to know the difference. Last time I remember seeing these guys… they were pouring out of a dimensional hole in Times Square and attacking everything in sight…"

"Didn't you say that was around your birthday?" Arachne asked.

"Yes, but that's not the point," Spider-Man answered.

"I'd suggest we not look a gift Mindless One in the mouth then," Spiderwoman countered, "Because my venom blasts are reaching the low end of my power levels and I don't want to give them any ideas."

"Right," Spider-Man nodded, "I'll see if I can slow them down some…"

Letting go of the webline, Spider-Man flipped through the air and began to descend towards a fairly large number of Mindless Ones rushing along the street. As he got closer, he fired several web-balls into the mass of Mindless Ones, making several of them stop to pull their legs out of the webbing that held them to that spot on the ground. He was tempted to smirk but managed to keep himself together, landed on the head of one Mindless One and drove it to the surface of the road and then launched himself back into the air with a flip to land at the front of the group of Mindless Ones.

Arachne followed right behind and mimicked the move her husband made, further entangling the Mindless Ones in webbing as she moved through the air. However, as she was following Spider-Man, she noticed that the one that Spider-Man knocked out turned to dust shortly after. She finished off one Mindless One, in much the same way her husband had, and bounced on. She arrived beside Spider-Man as Spiderwoman did.

"Are they supposed to turn to dust?" Arachne asked curiously.

"I don't think so," Spiderwoman answered, "why do you ask?"

"Because the ones that Peter and I hit coming here turned to dust after we did so," Arachne spoke, and fired a few more web-balls into the horde of Mindless Ones, keeping them trying to wrestle through to whatever their goal was.

One Mindless One broke through by burning through the webbing and rushed forward, this time in a blind rush which Spiderwoman met head on. She dodged one fire blast and closed to land a punch that spun its head around and then kneed it in the gut. The Mindless One only turned again fired a blast of fire from its eye. Spiderwoman managed to duck under it, but the blast did catch her hair, leaving it singed. Spiderwoman gave a pained growl and finally sent last of her energy for a venom blast into the Mindless One's chest. The venom blast finally turned the creature to dust.

"Okay… so that's odd," Spiderwoman spoke, though she had to admit she was a bit ignorant when it came to inter-dimensional creatures following giant flaming demons.

That Mindless One turned to dust, a couple of others managed to either burn or tear through the webbing that Spider-Man and Arachne had caught them in. The other two spider themed heroes were quick to leap in, firing more web-balls to ensnare the Mindless Ones behind them. Spider-Man even caught one with a webline and leaped into the center of the crowd of Mindless Ones. He then began to spin while holding onto the webline, using the Mindless One at the end of it like a 'mace and chain,' and the webline itself cutting down others that got inside Mindless One at the end of the webline.

0-0-0

"HIYYYYAAAAH!" Ronin gave a scream as he bounced along a set of fire escapes in pursuit of several Mindless Ones that had at first raced along the rooftops to the east before leaping down to the ground and going between buildings. As he did so, he swung one of his katanas down and managed to cut the creature in half. It gave a short pained scream and then turned to dust.

That made several of the Mindless Ones in the group look back to him, and despite the fact that faces didn't look remotely human and had no way of displaying emotion, Ronin seemed to get the idea that they were all planning on getting even He immediately wished he was at a greater distance and had his bow and arrows. He was a good unarmed combatant, but that wasn't his forte. The closest three Mindless Ones began to come at him when the sound of a gun firing came from above and behind him. Those three Mindless Ones soon had what passed for their heads explode before they turned to dust. Ronin turned to see Black Widow on some sort of hover platform armed with what looked like a very large gun.

"Missing your arrows, yet?" Black Widow teased.

"Only when there's that many of them that close," Ronin answered, "Where did you get the platform and the gun?"

"Lukin… strange how a guy who I remember as not being one anyone would really describe as heroic in America would be so willing to help when faced with a threat bigger than he is," Black Widow replied, "and with all of these Mindless Ones and Dormammu running around, I'm not about to complain."

Ronin nodded and looked back to see that the other Mindless Ones that had been further up had gone down the alley, evidently leaving the ones that Black Widow had shot to deal with Ronin. They weren't setting any land speed records but they had enough of a head start that they could still cause trouble if they got to whatever it was they were looking for.

"Do you need a lift?" Black Widow asked.

"Can you get ahead of them on that?" Ronin asked back.

Black Widow nodded.

"Then I can catch up," Ronin answered, "You get ahead and blast away… and I'll slice them up from behind."

Black Widow nodded and rushed the hover platform into the air and up above the Mindless Ones. They seemed to be rushing toward something, though none of them seemed to give any indication as to what that was. The hover pad that she had been provided with, however, was easily capable of matching their speed and then some. The greatest difficulty she had was in dodging fire escapes and other things stuck out from the sides of the buildings in the alley. As she came up on the back of the group of Mindless Ones, she did take several shots into the horde of them and gave a confident smile as several exploded into dust.

The shots slowed the horde down as several stopped to fire bursts of flame at her. Black Widow stayed at enough of a distance that she was able to dodge the blasts of flame. Lukin had promised them that the shield he'd conjured through the cosmic cube would protect them, but she didn't know how that would be done. She decided not to take the chance that it would only protect them from being burned by them. A couple of the shots hit one of the fire escapes, and she glanced back to see it fall with a great crash to the ground, and felt thankful that no one was underneath it.

"Hopefully that doesn't slow Clint down too much," Black Widow thought to herself as she came out of the alley was now hovering over the next street over from the building where the fight with Dormammu was.

As she did so, she finally saw what these Mindless Ones were after, which happened to a police car that was responding to something, likely the present battle. The Mindless Ones had already blasted the engine and were beginning to rapidly approach the car. She immediately flew the hover pad closer and took shots into the crowd of Mindless Ones, getting them to focus on her rather than the policeman. It worked and they fired on her, giving the policeman long enough time to get out of his car and take cover behind it.

"You need to go!" Black Widow yelled to the policeman, "These are Mindless Ones… supposedly from the Dark Dimension. Your standard issue pistol is not strong enough!"

"They took out my car!" the officer protested.

"And the Avengers are taking them out throughout this area, we can assure you of that," Black Widow retorted.

Behind Black Widow, Ronin ran after the horde of Mindless Ones. He watched as Black Widow fired on them, and he did gain on them. The Mindless Ones when they responded did seem to ignore him and fired their blasts skyward, toward Black Widow. The only thing that slowed him down was the fire escape falling to the ground in front of him. He skidded to a halt to avoid running into it. He looked out again to see that the Mindless ones were again moving after Black Widow. He then heard more shots and what sounded like a car alarm.

"Guess they've finally found something to attack," Ronin muttered in a low voice and sheathed his katana for a moment and then pulled out a couple of throwing stars to ready an attack. Once ready, he shouted, "Hey! Did you forget about me?!"

Two Mindless Ones, which were only at the exit of the alley, looked back to him. That is when Ronin hurdled the fire escape and threw the throwing stars. True throwing stars weren't the traditional weapon of samurai, but then Ronin figured that much of what he did as Ronin went against samurai tradition in many ways. The throwing stars hit both Mindless Ones in their eyes and they gave a screech of pain and brought their hands to their heads. In the time it took for them to do that, Ronin closed and drew his katana again. One was finished with a thrust upward through the skull while the other was beheaded. Again there was no blood or gore… the Mindless Ones simply turned to dust as the blows were delivered. It wasn't something that Ronin was used to, but he wasn't about to complain.

He then made his way forward into the street and soon saw what the Mindless Ones were attacking. It looked like a police car that the officer and Black Widow were hiding behind. Black Widow was taking shots from behind the car and the Mindless Ones were still focused on them. That gave Ronin the chance to attack them from behind.

0-0-0

Wasp flew down and repeatedly fired her wasp-stings into the head of a Mindless One that she was the closest to her as she dove down at her wasp size. The Mindless One paused in its march south along the street that Dormammu had been walking down earlier. It swung at her with one fist, but at her smaller size it was a clumsy attempt and it ended up back handing another Mindless One.

"Ha! Gotta do better than that, drones!" Wasp teased and flew through the maze of the Mindless Ones.

The Mindless Ones all aimed their blasts of fire at her, but they couldn't hit such a small target, and more often than not they hit each other. Many of them burst into dust and Wasp flew among them, firing her wasp-stings as necessary. So far this was proving rather fun and Wasp would do everything she could against these mindless brutes. Eventually one Mindless One figured out that simply swatting at her like a guy with a fly swatter was not working and clapped its hands together.

The blow generated enough force that Wasp was blown into the gut of another Mindless One and fell to the floor. That Mindless One then raised a foot to try and crush her. Wasp blinked and immediately reversed her powers. Her body immediately felt tight in her and she began to grow in size. Her wings were sucked back into her back and her body returned her human size. She had to roll to get away from the Mindless One that was trying to crush her, and her body then began to surpass her normal human size. As she grew larger and larger, she swiped and kicked at the Mindless Ones, sending many of them flying.

"Like I said… you gotta do better than that," Wasp smiled.

Well behind where the Wasp was, Hercules. Hercules had joined his fellow Red Team member in pursuing the Mindless Ones that ran south. They had enough of a head start that the two Avengers could see that they were attacking toward the river, and were likely aimed for Kronas Industries where Lukin had his satellites were. Dormammu had to have targeted them to improve his overall position in the fight against Lukin and the rest of the Avengers.

"Come back you cowards!" Hercules shouted after them as they ran on, "Come back and face the Prince of Power!"

A couple of Mindless Ones did stop and rushed him, which made the Greek demigod smile. The fight at Kronas had interesting to say the least, but Lukin's metal copy of Ares lacked the original's skill and wasn't nearly as strong. It wasn't a real fight and Hercules easily dominated the battle, tearing the copy of Ares limb from limb. These Mindless Ones with their own great strength and greater numbers would be much more of a challenge and worth his time to fight.

Hercules readied a powerful overhand blow that caught the first Mindless One just as it got within arm's length and then brought both fists down on the Mindless One's head. It fell to the ground and then after a following kick turned to dust. The first one's partner, however, attacked on his own with a different plan than the first one had. The second Mindless One fired a fire blast at Hercules and hit the demigod in the chest with it.

"Ouufff!" Hercules gave a pained grunt as he staggered back. The flames didn't burn him, as Lukin promised, but he could still feel the kinetic force of the attack, and that was enough to make him stagger. "Ah… at last, a good battle!"

With that, Hercules rushed forward as the Mindless Ones charged him. The collision was explosive as several Mindless Ones were either sent flying by punches or kicks from Hercules, but several Mindless Ones also piled onto Hercules. They threw punches and blasts of flame at the demigod, but it still took several to restrain him, and Hercules managed to outwrestle several of them and reduced many to dust before they could restrain him. Even with his arms restrained, Hercules managed to land some kicks against Mindless Ones that came close.

Wasp, meanwhile, felt the impact of several blasts of fire against her body. They stung a little, but as body continued to grow larger, her strength increased with it. She was heavily thankful that the Avengers had long worked so closely with Mr. Fantastic and the Fantastic Four. The unstable molecules treated with Pym particles allowed for her costume to grow and shrink with her. As she climbed to her feet she soon found herself towering over the Mindless Ones. They fired their blasts of fire at her, but having grown to the point that she stood nearly one hundred feet tall the blasts did her little harm.

"My turn," Wasp said with a smile and reared her foot back and delivered a powerful kick with her foot turned sideways, as if she were kicking a giant soccer ball, and sent several Mindless Ones. They all turned to dust when they landed. Wasp the lifted her other foot and brought it down on another group of Mindless Ones and crushed them with the enhanced strength she gained by taking her giant size.

With that she could easily see that the number of Mindless Ones had been drastically reduced, and many that were there were fleeing, again toward the river, but now it looked like they were afraid of her. She quickly found that the ones that remained were trying to pull Hercules to the ground. With the numbers of Mindless Ones depressed, Wasp moved to save her other Red Team member. She bent down and grabbed several of the Mindless Ones and gave them a firm squeeze. The Mindless Ones gave a his before bursting into dust and allowing Hercules pull them from where they were standing and then throw them back towards Dormammu.

"My thanks, Wasp, though I thought thou preferred thine wasp size," Hercules commented.

"The smaller size is good for annoying bad guys… particularly when they're overlooking it," Wasp answered in a whisper, as at her present side, 'normal' volume would sound way too loud to the demigod, "but in this case, in order to deal with their numbers, I needed a form that could handle them quickly and easily."

"And thine present form is plenty striking," Hercules gave a smile, "but we must catch the remaining ones!"

"They're too spread out for my wasp size to be effective at slowing them down," Wasp said carefully, "are you ready to try something that Wolverine has commented on a lot if Cap and Tony are right…"

"Yes… what are thou suggesting?" Hercules wondered, puzzled but more than willing to do anything for a lady.

"I propose to throw you toward the fleeing Mindless Ones and let you force them to stop while I shrink down to a more manageable size and catch up," Wasp answered, "You up for it?"

Hercules nodded and then climbed onto Wasp's offered hand.

"Try to aim for one of those fleeing brigands!" Hercules said to her.

"I'll try," Wasp answered and have what would be a light toss. While Hercules was no lightweight, at her present size, if she used all her strength she could have easily overthrown the Mindless Ones and accomplished nothing.

Hercules enjoyed the actual "flight" as Wasp had done a good job with the throw. He wasn't going to land directly on a Mindless One, but the force was not enough send him through the street or into the river that the Mindless Ones were rushing towards. The landing was a bit rough, but he easily dropped into a forward roll and got up a few feet in front of the creatures.

"Thou won't be fleeing a battle you've begun!" Hercules spoke as he turned and landed a power haymaker to the closest Mindless One to him, "Now… face me and face the Avengers!"

The Mindless Ones stopped, gave a growling hiss and charged, this time converging on Hercules. The Greek demigod actually laughed, dodged the first punch and grabbed the Mindless One by its arm. As the creature ran by him, Hercules kept a firm grip on its arm pulled it back so that it bent backwards. This allowed him to slam the Mindless One to the ground and then kick it into another one that was charging. He then grunted as one grabbed him from behind, and it attempted to put him in a headlock, hissing as it did so.

"Nice try, Mindless One," Hercules said to it as he managed to grab the Mindless One by its head and pulled it over him to slam it to the ground. He only got it in front of him when the Mindless One he was holding was hit by a fire blast from a different one.

That blast sent the captured Mindless One into Hercules and made him stagger backward. The one he had captured finally turned to dust and the blast then hit the demigod in the chest and knocked him on his back. For the Mindless One that had fired the blast of fire, though, its success was short lived as it was hit by several wasp stings in its back and shoulder. It then turned to see that Wasp had returned to her wasp size and had flown after them. She arrived just in time to catch the last Mindless One.

"Missed me?" Wasp teased the creature as it turned to swing its fist at her.

The blow missed, but in dodging it, Wasp flew directly in front of its eye. She gave a short gulp as that cyclopean eye began to glow as it prepared to fire a blast of flame at her and then fired her wasp stings directly into it. The stings made the Mindless One give a scream of pain before it exploded in a burst of flame leaving only embers behind as it was destroyed by its own powers.

"Good job, Wasp!" Hercules congratulated her as he got to his feet, "that would appear to be the last of these creatures."

"Yeah… but now we got Dormammu, himself, to deal with," Wasp reminded him.

"Aye," Hercules nodded, "Where the fun begins."

0-0-0

Iron Man, Sentry, and Ms. Marvel stood in awe and partial fear as Dormammu had unleashed his Mindless Ones, or at least what looked like them. Iron Man remembered battling them at least once before, and remembered getting some sensor readings on their energy levels and make up. They had been strong and practically invulnerable. These ones, while their energies were still strong, were not as 'invulnerable' as the ones from that previous battle. He then assumed that these Mindless Ones were only constructs meant to pull the Avengers away from Lukin, who was equipping Black Widow before she went after Ronin.

"Your position is hopeless," Dormammu spoke from above them, "My Mindless Ones will destroy your allies and your powers are nothing compared to mine."

"You've vastly under estimated us," Iron Man said defiantly, "You wouldn't have sent off the others after the Mindless Ones if that were the case. And we will make you realize that! Sentry, Ms. Marvel, let's go!"

Iron Man then fired several blasts of repuslor fire at Dormammu's chest while the other present Avengers readied their attack. The blasts hit Dormammu in the chest, though at his side, they didn't do much more than tickle the ruler of the Dark Dimension. He still saw his real enemy being General Lukin and he had been trying to get the Avengers to leave Lukin alone, but Dormammu wasn't about to admit that. He prepared himself to deal with the remaining Avengers and then Lukin.

Dormammu, however, didn't get the time to fully respond as a gold blur hit him in the face and actually knocked him backward. He was hit by another blast from Iron Man's repulsor rays which finally threw him off balance and he fell backward. He landed hard on a large group of Mindless Ones on the street with a great crash and reducing those he landed on to dust.

"So, how are we going to do this exactly?" Ms. Marvel asked, "I can absorb the energy of any attack he launches… but that assumes he uses energy or flame based attacks on me… and even then… there is a limit to how much I can absorb and redirect in any given time."

"You, me, and the Sentry are going to keep him distracted while Lukin uses the cosmic cube to hit him with energies that are going to be on par with his own magical abilities," Iron Man answered, and fired a few more repulsor shots at Dormammu.

"And suppose he decides to melt the building that Lukin is on?" Ms. Marvel questioned, "He's rather immobile… unless he decides to create some sort of flying armor with the cube… which if Cap's stories are correct would only weaken its strength."

"Then we'll have to protect him," Iron Man answered, "the more we annoy him, the more likely he's to ignore Lukin."

Ms. Marvel was unable to answer as a huge blast of fire went skyward between her and Iron Man, forcing them to break apart from where they were flying. Shortly after Dormammu began to rise into the space they had vacated.

"GNATS!" Dormammu roared, "You are nothing but gnats! And you dare to challenge me?!"

Dormammu then raised a hand and a ball of a sickening green colored energy formed in it. He was evidently readying some sort of spell. Iron Man could even detect the energy building with his sensors.

"He's getting ready for something big!" Iron Man shouted in warning.

"For your insolence, I shall destroy you all!" Dormammu then vowed and extended his fingers, as if to release the energy that was in the ball.

And then the energy in the spell was released. It streaked out in individual strands of light that began to pursue each of the three Avengers that had directly attacked him. The Sentry was preparing to return with a second high speed strike when the beam hit him and then wrapped him entirely in a massive ball of black negative energy. The second hit Ms. Marvel in the chest and sent her flying back into space. She felt her powers begin to absorb the magic, but it carried enough force that she was still driven toward outer space. Iron Man was hit only in the gut, but was sent flying backward and toward Manhattan.

"Warning… warning… warning… unidentified energy attack!" Iron Man's onboard computer warned him, "Shields at 39% integrity and falling."

Iron Man only cursed as diagnostics flashed red on all levels. He eventually flew backwards over Manhattan and crashed hard in New Jersey. He shakily got to his feet and checked his diagnostics again.

"Shields at 10 percent integrity, Repulsor Ray systems at 0 percent power, Unibeam projector at 0.5 percent power, hydraulics at 20 percent efficiency, and rocket/jet systems at 0.10 percent strength," Iron Man's onboard computer told him.

"Great," Iron Man grumbled, "I'm effectively powerless."

0-0-0

On the rooftop, Lukin only watched in horror and amazement at battle that raged. Iron Man was taken out of the fight and the Sentry was ceased in a floating black ball while Ms. Marvel was sent toward a low Earth orbit. Meanwhile the rest of the Avengers were battling the Mindless Ones. He respected the judgment that Dormammu was a great threat, and had agreed to help in the hope that a greater threat would be defeated and he could secure power for the final defeat of the Red Skull. It had not been out of any real innate goodness as the Avengers would likely describe it, they would likely only describe his actions as pragmatic against a bigger threat and that they would be on their guard of a betrayal on Lukin's part in the end. After all, they likely saw the Soviet controlling Eastern Europe after World War Two as a similar betrayal.

But watching that rapid exchange of shots had more than convinced him otherwise, Dormammu was not only a bigger threat to them than he was to the Avengers. Dormammu was a threat to them all, as he had effectively defeated three of Avengers Red Team in less than minute. Not even he managed that in his brief battle with Red Team did that, though he had to divide his powers against several. Dormammu was different, he was one being and he could focus all his power on him, and he would have to if it meant getting anything good done. He hadn't had time to prepare any attack while Dormammu was distracted, and now he'd have the demon's undivided attention.

"And now for you!" Dormammu said triumphantly.

"And let you destroy this world?" Lukin shouted back, "Think again!"

He then raised the cosmic cube which then began to glow with a blue light and wrapped its energies around most of the Mindless Ones fighting Captain America and Wonder Man and brought them above Lukin. The sky crackled with a light blue cosmic energy and the Mindless Ones began to merge into one being. As they did so, the head became more humanoid and medieval-like armor began to outfit it. In the end, a great sword appeared in its hands with a giant red 'K' on its chest.

"Destroy him!" Lukin commanded the created creature.

Dormammu raised an arm, intending to regain control over the transformed Mindless One, but found the sky crackle with light blue energy as he did so and the 'Mindless Knight's' sword sliced through his arm cleanly, making him scream with pain.

"Useless wretch!" Dormammu growled and opened his mouth wide, letting out a burst of flame that melted the Mindless Knight before it could even ready itself for a second strike, "You dare pervert my own soldiers!?"

Dormammu was answered by several large missiles coming down on him. The explosion shattered windows and Dormammu only just got a shield up in time.

"I do what I can to protect this world," Lukin answered, "I may not be seen as a hero by many… but my mission has been to right wrongs in this world. I am not out for conquest for conquests sake… I don't even want the world. All I've wanted is justice for the wrongs of others… and YOU are the person most in the wrong here!"

0-0-0

"This is just great," Black Widow grumbled as she pulled the policeman into a nearby alley.

The two of them had driven from their cover behind the police car as the Mindless Ones had tried to warm it and spread out enough that Black Widow couldn't put enough shots out to deter them with the blaster that Lukin had conjured for her. They destroyed the car and drove them back. She could see through the crowd that Ronin was drawing some of them away, and was managing to hold his own, but with the policeman refusing to leave, Black Widow couldn't use her own talents to really assist him.

"My gun ain't doing anything to them!" the policeman complained.

Black Widow didn't answer. She knew the officer's gun wasn't strong enough, but he insisted on staying. Saying 'I told you so' wouldn't help matters. She only aimed her blaster and took out the closest three Mindless Ones that were charging the alley. That brought a return of fire blasts from the creatures that made her duck back and allowed them to advance in mass on the alley.

"Do you have any ideas?" the policeman demanded.

"None that would work with you here," Black Widow answered, "the best you can do is aim for their eye."

In that moment, a Mindless One managed to reach the alley and grabbed hold of the blaster and pulled it out of Black Widow's hands. Its appearance made the policeman jump and he fired several shots into the Mindless One's 'face.' The last round hit the Mindless One in its lone eye and the creature exploded in a burst of flame, taking it, the blaster, and three more Mindless Ones with it.

To the north of that alley, Ronin was in the middle of a tougher fight. The Mindless Ones seemed to be divided between him and Black Widow, but he had expended his supply of ranged weapons for the moment and that left him with his katanas. They had proved effective in dealing with these Mindless Ones in a one on one fight and in ambushes, but he wasn't in an ambush or a one on one fight. It was him against twenty.

"Come on, uglies," Ronin gave a challenging grunt as he sliced through an arm of a Mindless One that was reaching for him, "I'm not about to give up that easily!"

The Mindless One that he had sliced through hit him in the chest with a blast of fire which sent him flying. He hit the corner of a building hard and ended up losing both his swords as a result. He heard what sounded like a fiery explosion, and hoped that that wasn't Black Widow, and looked to see the Mindless Ones that were approaching him. They hissed as they advanced. Ronin expected to be finished off when he heard a soft pinging noise and glanced to see what looked like a small gold metal orb bounce along the street until it was in the middle of the Mindless Ones. It then exploded in a flash of light leaving the entire street covered in the dust of the fallen Mindless Ones.

"I'm alive," Ronin said to himself after a moment, "I'm alive…"

He was quick to get to his feet and then finished his statement.

"Widow…"

Ronin then raced down toward an alley that he had seen the Mindless Ones drive the Red Team member and the policeman toward. He arrived only to see Black Widow coming out of the alley, brushing dust off her uniform.

"How did you get them?" Black Widow asked, "Don't tell me samurai are carrying explosives now, are they?"

"No… they were about to take me out when whatever took them out hit them," Ronin answered, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Black Widow nodded, "but if you didn't take out the Mindless Ones, who did?"

It was then that a new voice cut them off.

"That would be me," came a calm dignified tone that sounded like it was Chinese or Tibetan, Ronin couldn't identify which.

They looked to see bald headed man in stylized Chinese shirt of a dark green color with gold trim and a greenish-gold cloth sash. He also was carrying a large duffel bag with the strap going around one shoulder. It was Doctor Strange's manservant, Wong. He bowed to both Avengers and then to the policeman who was still trailing behind Black Widow.

"Doctor Strange had informed me of your present issue with Dormammu being the one behind the present attacks and requested I bring him specific items needed to send him back to his prison," Wong explained, "and given Doctor Strange's past battles with Dormammu… I also brought along a few choice weapons of magical power that work against Dormammu and the creatures of his dimension."

"And a good decision, too," Black Widow commented, "Do you have any more? We got a one hundred foot tall Dormammu to take care of…"

"I am afraid I did not bring enough to deal with Dormammu at that size," Wong replied, "I have the Orb of Teleportation and the Talismans of the Dark Dimension and they are needed to send Dormammu back to where he came from… unfortunately I did not have the room for many of the weapons I used here… and still we must get these to Doctor Strange, or all will be lost…"

The glanced up at the fire and blue electrical energy dancing through the night sky above them.

"What if this Dormummu guy comes after us?" the policeman demanded, "and are you an Avenger? Are you cleared by S.H.I.E.L.D. to interfere in a police matter?"

"The demon's name is Dormammu," Wong answered, barely acknowledging the policeman, "and whatever the Avengers are doing… even if they manage to render him unconscious, if he cannot be returned to his dimensional prison, he will win eventually, regardless of WHOSE business it is."

Black Widow then turned to the office and said firmly, "You'd best get back to your station and inform them of what is going on. Tell them that S.H.I.E.L.D. through the Avengers is handling the matter. If need be the best you can do is work with S.H.I.E.L.D. to satisfy any necessary evacuation… if it comes to that…"

"But…"

"Hey, buddy," Ronin cut in, "can the NYPD defeat Dormmamu with their standard equipment… or even with their SWAT units?"

"An army could not defeat him… not without resorting to its most powerful weapons and being willing to destroy the city in the process," Wong spoke, which the policeman did agree to. Though, it was clear that the policeman was grudgingly accepting the advice.

"Very well," the officer answered as he moved off.

"He's going to write a very strongly worded letter to the editor, you know that," Black Widow answered.

"Maybe… but what's worse? Giving him the pleasure of command and being in the wrong place and getting him killed and some else then complains that we didn't save him or letting him write a report that we bungled his mission by saving his life in the process of stopping the threat?" Ronin retorted.

"If I may… this debate can wait," Wong answered, "We must get the ingredients to Doctor Strange.

0-0-0

In the black ball, the Sentry found himself curled in ball as from the void of darkness came a voice that he truly feared.

"Isn't this what you prefer?" the voice asked.

"No," the Sentry spoke, "No, I won't let you win!"

"But I am you," the voice answered, "I am the Void and you are me. You cannot help it, you like being evil!"

"No!" the Sentry screamed back at the 'Void.' The Void was the biggest thing that he feared. He feared that he would commit acts of evil that would be just as strong as anything good that he had done. Tony had hired plenty of therapists to work with his issues regarding the Void and he had been working with Hercules to strengthen his confidence in being the Sentry, but that hadn't fully removed the fear of the Void.

"Come on… you've seen you can't defeat Dormammu as the Sentry," the 'Void' answered.

"Which would logically mean you can't beat him either," the Sentry answered.

"Then why not serve him, join the Hood's Gang and serve Dormammu as the Void?" the 'Void' asked.

The Sentry gripped his head and tried to resist. He didn't want to be the Void, and then he realized something. He had no idea who this 'Hood' was. Captain America's team had been investigating something, something which ultimately lead them to Dormammu, but they had never given that something a name.

"And just who is the Hood?" the Sentry questioned.

"You know who he is," the Void answered, "he's the criminal Captain America was chasing. He told you so."

Sentry actually found himself gaining some strength from that. The Void wasn't here and as his fear relaxed he remembered one of the things lessons on control that Hercules had been teaching. The lesson had been brief and odd and resulted in them sparring, but its purpose was to get him to focus his mind not only on what was good but to keep his focus on that. Hercules had commented that much of his issues with 'the Void' had been due to a lack of true focus on what he was doing. Thus, while he committed great deeds as Sentry, his own mental defenses were never aware of the Void and he thus never noticed the shift in his personality when the Void took over. Of course he still feared the Void, but he now realized that he didn't feel the Void's personality creeping into his own responses. He found it strange that Hercules' method for teaching control had worked in such a way, but the Sentry figured he'd have to thank the Greek demigod and keep up his practice. In the meantime, he focused his attention on the spell impersonating the Void.

"Captain America did not tell me about the Hood, Dormammu," the Sentry answered firmly as he reached out with his hands, making his whole body begin to glow with a bright light, "Nor did any other member of Blue Team! And you are not the Void!"

As the Sentry pushed against the walls of the orb that contained him he heard what sounded like a hiss of pain, as if the orb was alive, but he figured that that was likely Dormammu himself trying to maintain control over whatever spell that he cast. Eventually the spell broke and light flooded into the orb, freeing the Sentry from it. He then looked around to see Lukin standing on the rooftop with the cosmic cube pointed at Dormammu. Above him, he also saw Ms. Marvel returning, though it looked like her costume was edged with fire… like the fire was an accessory.

0-0-0

The spell sent Ms. Marvel flying backward toward the skies above the earth. Despite feeling the air grow colder and thinner, making her lungs burn as they struggled for oxygen, she also felt some pain as she absorbed the power that Dormammu poured into the spell. Her gloves and boots and her sash had started to catch fire without burning. She found it strange, especially when she could also feel the fire's heat, but much of her concern was actually aimed at what she was being sent through. Cosmic energy crackled in the sky as Lukin countered Dormammu's magic with the cosmic cube. If one piece of cosmic energy touched her, she feared she would explode as she could hold no more energy.

"Come on," Ms. Marvel growled, hoping and wanting Dormammu's spell to run out of energy, "Come on…"

Finally, Dormammu's spell fizzled out allowing Ms. Marvel to regain control of her own flight. With that, she went into a steep dive that took her down toward Dormammu. From her present height, even at one hundred feet tall, he was but an ant, but as she got closer and closer, he grew bigger and bigger and bigger. As she sped down, she channeled the energy from Dormammu's magic into her hands, which made them seem to glow as if they were on fire and readied herself to return Dormammu's favor. She sped past the Sentry as he tore himself out of the black ball that he had been encased in and fired her attack.

"You know not true power," Dormammu growled as he approached the building Lukin was on, and pointing with a regrown hand, "you can construct all these intriguing toys… but in the end… I am still standing, and when your cube… your satellites… your technology fails you… what then?"

"You'd best focus on avoiding your own defeat rather than bragging about your victory," Lukin answered.

It was then that Ms. Marvel's absorbed and redirected energy hit him in the back, making him stumble forward. The Sentry hit him in the back of the head at high speed and then ricocheted back into the sky leaving a golden streak behind him in the air. He soon felt a few of his Mindless Ones being thrown into him, as well as Captain America's shield. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Wasp approaching. She was growing up to her giant size, as if to bring the fight to the physical level. This frustrated him as he would only weaken himself if he tried to create more Mindless Ones and that wouldn't do against Lukin. The cube's powers had to be enhanced, but it was blocking him as Lukin had proven creative enough to be difficult.

Dormammu gave a growl and raised one hand and generated a solid energy shield, one strong enough that the heroes couldn't break through. Once he'd defeated Lukin, he'd deal with them. He only watched as Wasp punched the field and then pulled her hand back, shaking it as if in pain. Dormammu then reached out with his other hand and sent an energy spell at Lukin. Colored a sickly green it snaked its way toward the man, and would be Dormammu's final move. He'd overpower Lukin in one final lunge, and was certain the resulting explosion when the cosmic cube overloaded would take out a few Avengers too.

Lukin stood in some surprise, though was relieved to have the Avengers begin to return and converge on Dormammu, but the fact that the demon blocked their attacks was enough to make him nervous. Stopping Dormammu appeared to be solely on his shoulders. As Dormammu raised his arm again, he realized a new attack was coming and readied to shield himself in the cosmic cube's energy. The cube reacted and a wall of cosmic energy erupted from it and soon hit and pushed back against Dormammu's attack. All of the Avengers could soon see both the two walls of energy pushing against each other.

"There's gotta be something we can do," Arachne commented from the ground.

She, Spiderwoman, and Spider-Man had finished with the Mindless Ones to find Dormammu moving on the building, and used their webbing to slingshot the Mindless Ones that hadn't turned to dust at the giant demon. All that accomplished by finishing off the Mindless Ones when they hit the energy shield. Now they were all stuck outside the shield and looking for some way to attack it. Spider-Man flicked the shield lightly with finger and then recoiled when the shield responded as though it was electrified.

"I don't think there is anything we can do, unless someone can power through that shield and hold it open," Spider-Man commented as he shook his hand, his fingers stinging slightly.

"The shield even penetrates through the street and goes under him," Wonder Man commented as he approached, "Even my fully ionic form can't pass through it…"

"Well… the shield is magic based," Spiderwoman commented, "as such it probably isn't limited by the same rules as science."

"We're really going to need Doctor Strange, then aren't we?" Wonder Man gave a sigh and looked up as Dormammu's magic pushed against Lukin's cosmic cube generated energy.

**The Bar**

Back at the bar that the SVU had been using as a base, Doctor Strange was busy finalizing the tasks that would need to be completed to make sure that when Dormammu was defeated, he was sent back to the dimension he had been imprisoned in. Luke Cage remained with Wolverine, ready to move the wounded X-Man should the need to arise. Iron Fist, meanwhile, stayed with Doctor Strange and helped him move some of the debris that the battle with the Hood and his collection of thugs and the arrival of Dormammu had caused. Most of it was piled in a corner near the northern end of the building, leaving a large area where Dormammu had emerged from rather clear.

"Will he be able to come back, after this?" Iron Fist asked.

"It is always possible," Doctor Strange said with a sigh, "but with a piece of the Hood's cowl going with him… he won't be able to do this again… especially if we can talk with Iron Man to give a full press release on HOW Dormammu did it this time. Petty thugs like the Hood will always want power… but if they know who is really pulling the strings and the likely results wouldn't entirely be in their favor they're likely to think twice on the issue…"

"And so the truth continues to be our ally?" Iron Fist spoke with a slight grin.

"Of course," Doctor Strange replied and turned his head to the sound of footsteps.

As he turned, he found Wong, Ronin, and Black Widow approaching as quickly as they could. There was a great look of concern on Wong and Black Widows faces, and Doctor Strange was certain that Ronin had the same feelings.

"Do you have everything ready, Wong?" Doctor Strange asked.

"Yes, all the ingredients are ready," Wong answered, "And I have brought them. Though, I must urge as much haste as possible. I was forced to use the best weapon readily available against Dormammu and we likely do not have time to make another."

Doctor Strange nodded as Wong opened the bag he was carrying. First he took out three dark colored candles and carefully moved to set them so that they formed a triangle around the piece of the Hood's cloak that was sitting in the cleared area. They were easily lit with a quick spell as Wong then produced another three items. One was a black colored orb that pulsed with some dark energy, though not necessarily evil. One was a golden scepter that actually began to respond to the area where Dormammu had emerged, as though it recognized Dormammu's power. The third was actually another glass contained energy orb that actually glowed in an almost rainbow of colors.

"Those will send him back?" Black Widow asked and glanced up into the sky as blue electricity crackled through the sky, as if heading to Lukin and the cosmic cube.

"No, the candles and items are what will allow the Orb of Teleportation to pick the right dimension and location to send Dormammu to," Doctor Strange answered as he began to set the additional items down next to the candles, "specifically a portion of the Dark Dimension that can function as a prison for him and will limit his access to his forces in that dimension."

It was then that Wong produced the last item. It was a gold ring, about the size of a Frisbee with what looked a glowing orb of purplish energy. The ring had small legs underneath it that would act as a sort of stand and would allow the orb to be held above the ground. Doctor Strange took it and placed in the center and then picked up the piece of the Hood's cloak. He then retreated outside the triangle formed by the candles and held out the piece of the Hood's cloak and then began to speak calmly.

"Talismans of the Dark Dimension… anchor the port to the prison realm and pull the one who created this…" Doctor Strange spoke as he tossed the piece of the Hood's cloak in, "into the Orb of Teleportation and return Dormammu to his prison…"

A wind, coming from the area where the battle was began to grow out of nowhere, which the present Avengers could notice, but not truly feel. The piece of the Hood's cloak hovered right in front of the Orb of Teleportation and seemed to billow in the breeze, and no one dared to cross the triangle formed by the candles and the Talismans of the Dark Dimension. They only looked up and watched the crackle of energy go on in the sky.

**Kronas Industries**

Meanwhile, the battle against Dormammu did not exist in a vacuum. Lukin was using a lot of the cosmic cube's powers to counter the attacks that Dormammu made. Thanks to his satellite systems, Lukin's cube equaled everything that Dormammu could do in terms of power, though only just barely and there was still a problem. The Kronas satellites, intended to project the energy of Lukin's cube around the world and thus imprison the Red Skull on his island, had taken some damage in the battle between Lukin and Avengers: Red Team. It was damage that had not been repaired, and now Lukin was pushing both his cube and his satellites to the max, which the damaged systems could not sustain. There were already sparks flying from the sections that had been damaged in the earlier battle, as things wouldn't last long.

**The Bronx, with Dormammu**

"Thanks for coming to get me," Iron Man said to Sentry as he dangled from the Sentry's arms, "the demon's attack essentially took everything out of my suit."

"It is no problem," Sentry answered, "besides; I think we're all running out of ideas. Dormammu's raised a shield that we can't get through and is in a bit of a 'shoving match' with Lukin."

Iron Man looked out to see Dormammu standing erect with one arm outstretched toward the rooftop where Lukin was. His had was encircled by the sickly green energy that had struck Iron Man earlier and it pushed out in a solid beam directly at Lukin, who stood on the roof with the cosmic cube in hand. From the cube was a strong beam of electric blue energy that was pushing back against Dormammu's energy. From what Iron Man could see, the two beams of energy were pushing against each other, but the cosmic energies channeled by the cube seemed to be gaining slight advantage. Occasionally he saw a slight shimmer of energy around Dormammu, and assumed that was the shield that the Sentry had mentioned.

"We're going to have to accept the shoving match," Iron Man answered, "about all we can do is try to keep Dormammu from putting everything into his blast…"

"But that hasn't done much," Sentry commented.

"It's the only card we have to play," Iron Man answered, "tell Ms. Marvel to try and see if she can absorb some of the shield's energy… maybe that will help."

0-0-0

Ahead of them, Ms. Marvel had already come to that decision and was standing near the edge of Dormammu's shield.

"Carol, are you sure you can do this?" Cap asked from behind her, looking up at the faceoff between Dormammu and Lukin.

"It's not about what I can do, but what I MUST do," Ms. Marvel answered, "I can absorb his magic and re-channel it. It hurts… but it may be the only thing that can slow him down enough to take him down."

Cap blinked and looked up again.

"Or would you rather we just punch at a shield that can stop us that way?" Ms. Marvel questioned.

"Just be careful," Cap finally said with a sigh, "Don't push yourself beyond what you can do…"

Ms. Marvel nodded and then reached out with her hands and touched Dormammu's shield. It tingled, like experiencing a steady static shock hitting her hands and going up her arms until it reached her shoulders. As she began absorbing the magical energies of the shield, she felt parts of her costume begin to smolder again as well as feeling her skin begin to feel as if it was sunburned. It got worse as she took on more, but she knew she had to do it.

0-0-0

If Dormammu's flaming body could sweat, he would surely be sweating. Lukin had proved throughout the fight that he was skilled with the cosmic cube's powers and the Avengers proved to be far more difficult to destroy than he had imagined. His spell to destroy Lukin wasn't overpowering the cube as he anticipated, and now he had begun to feel a pull back to the dimension the Hood had helped him escape from. His shield was only just holding off that pull, but it was draining more of his power, and now he also felt the energy in that shield being drained. His only saving grace was that he could also see the cosmic cube beginning to crackle with electricity, as if it was close to over loading.

"Must hold on," Dormammu growled and put more power into his attack.

0-0-0

Lukin had the same thoughts as he focused on firing the cosmic energies from the cosmic cube as the demon that was Dormammu continued his was magical attack. While Dormammu was focused on conquest, however, Lukin was actually trying to save the world from Dormammu. The fact that he was doing something that the world would truly see as heroic, regardless of views, was not lost to him. But he pressed on, as Dormammu was not one that could be lived with, and on some levels, Lukin did admit that the Avengers weren't all bad.

Lukin's only concern was that the feedback he was getting from the cosmic cube, itself. Energy from it was going up his arm, and he could feel significant pain from it. The cube and likely his satellites were starting to overload. It wouldn't be long before that overload became critical, but Lukin had to keep the attack going. He had to stop Dormammu, if only something could distract Dormammu as he put more energy into the cube's attack.

0-0-0

Dormammu kept his focus on Lukin and kept trying to pour in power into his attack, when a strong beam of energy punched through his shield and hit him in the back. He glanced back to see Ms. Marvel as the source of the beam. She had somehow absorbed energy from his shield and had rechanneled into an attack on him, and with his focus on Lukin, it punched through his shield. From there, it got worse for him. The beam made Dormammu flinch and as he tried to correct for it, his energies grew weaker, and then it hit him. A great explosion came from his front and he was hit in the chest by a powerful wave of cosmic energy that knocked him off his feet and sent him flying.

"Nooooooooooooooooooo!" Dormammu howled as the explosion had also broke his shield and with him in the air, he was now being pulled by whatever force it was that had been pulling on him.

**Kronas Industries**

On the other side of New York City, Lukin's satellite structures finally could produce no more energy, or amplify the cube's powers. The damage sustained fighting Avengers: Red Team had gone past critical and the system overloaded and overheated. Sparks flew wildly from the satellite before it exploded in a burst of electric blue energy sending the last of its energy to cosmic cube.

**The Bronx, with Dormammu**

"Looks like Carol had your idea already, Tony," the Sentry commented as he came in for a landing beside Wasp on the rooftop of a building opposite the one that Lukin was on.

Wasp looked up as the Sentry spoke and sighed. She had shrunk down to a small enough height that she'd have her wings and could fire her wasp-stings at Dormammu's shield, but that had less of an effect than her fists had at her giant size. With that, she was truly beginning to run out of ideas, and she looked to Iron Man as if he would have something.

"And it looks like it's work… hey look out…!" Iron Man answered.

Wasp only looked back to watch as the cosmic cube violently exploded in Lukin's hand and vaporized him in a moment before sending a massive blast of energy that went straight into Dormammu. She only gasped as this happened and Dormammu was sent flying backward, howling 'no' as he went.

"Did you…?" Wasp said slowly.

"Wasp, go see if he's still alive or there…" Iron Man said quickly, his surprise, shock, and horror easily detectable through the vocabulator in his armor that gave it its mechanical tinge when he was in his armor.

Wasp easily flew over the street to where Lukin had been. She approached nervously, and half expected to find him alive, if badly injured. However, all she found was a black 'crater' on the roof where Lukin had been standing. There were also some minor cracks that radiated from the center of the black mark on the roof. That confirmed it. The cosmic cube had exploded and sent Dormammu flying, but killed Lukin with at the same time.

**Rooftop Near the Bar**

Wolverine woke slowly and in great pain. His costume and his skin both looked burned, but it was apparent that his healing factor had managed get through the worst of what Dormammu had hit him with earlier.

"Ouurrggh," Wolverine groaned, "hate demons…"

"Don't we all," came Luke Cage's voice from beside him, "thankfully, Doctor Strange apparently has a plan to send Dormammu back to the hell he belongs in."

The Canadian X-Man and Avenger looked to the African American hero, who looked like he'd been standing guard over him and then over the edge of the building was on. Below them, Wolverine made out Doctor Strange, Ronin, Iron Fist, Black Widow, and Wong standing near what looked like some sort of magical ritual.

"I take it the candles are to do that?" Wolverine commented, noticing a pulsing glow among some of the items.

"I believe so," Luke Cage answered, "Are you feeling any better?"

"A bit…" Wolverine said slowly, "It'll still take a while to fully heal though."

Luke Cage nodded and was about to say something else when a great explosion was head by all in the area and soon after a great howl of 'no' echoed through the air. They both looked up to Dormammu flying backward toward the orb in the center of the triangle that Doctor Strange had set up. The flaming body seemed to grow smaller as it did so. It was as if Dormammu was being pulled by the orb.

"That must be the plan," Wolverine commented as Dormammu was pulled into the orb and then vanished in a flash of white light.

**A Short Time Later**

Both Avengers teams regrouped in the wrecked bar as quiet descended on the streets in the Bronx. There were signs of injury and exhaustion as they essentially matched notes with each other.

"So… this Hood was the one that brought Dormammu here?" Iron Man asked.

"Yes," Doctor Strange nodded, "and with Dormammu sent back to his own prison again, with a piece of the Hood's cloak, the Hood is no longer a real threat."

"And it was Lukin that took Dormammu out?" Black Widow asked.

"He held on to stop him," Iron Man replied, "though; I'd suppose Doctor Strange's efforts to send him back to his prison are what defeated him."

"Without Lukin's efforts, my spell wouldn't have fully worked, we all worked in this victory," Doctor Strange commented.

There were a few silent nods as they thought over what had happened at the end of the battle with Dormammu.

"And he really took Dormammu out?" Black Widow asked.

"And paid the ultimate price to do it," Iron Man answered, "the cosmic cube exploded just as he sent Dormammu flying."

"Good," Black Widow huffed, "the man deserved it, regardless of finally doing something good with his life."

"It cannot be said that he was completely a good or noble man," Captain America said slowly, "I can remember seeing his predecessors in the War… they were just as dark and devious as the Nazis were…"

Black Widow nodded, as did many of the others.

"But at the same time, they ultimately did see themselves as doing something right and stop a great evil in what they were doing," Captain America said slowly.

"It's one evil seeking to rule over the world in place of a different evil," Ronin commented, "Both sides could claim they were good, but neither of them were."

"Perhaps," Captain America sighed, "but he still got the shot to do the right thing in the end… to truly be the 'hero' he probably saw himself as."

"A shame he couldn't have done this earlier in his life," Hercules commented.

"Heroism is always difficult," Spider-Man commented, "can we go home now?"

Cap and Iron Man both nodded. There would be more work that would be needed to be done in the future, but for now they could return to Avengers Tower.

**To Be Concluded...**

"**While he felt like a victim, he acted like a hero."**

_Horace Walpole, English writer and connoisseur, son of Robert Walpole – of Admiral Byng, on the day of his execution, 1757 – quoted in the Memoirs of the Reign of King George II (1846) volume 2_


	8. Epilogue: A Job Well Done, Yet Only Just

All characters appearing in Avengers and other Marvel titles are copyrighted to Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee, and are owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. All real persons mentioned in this story belong to themselves. No infringement of these copyrights or offense to the people mentioned is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder or persons. All original characters are the property of TVfan.

Note: This story is my sequel to "Civil War" in the Captain America section and takes place immediately after that story.

Initiative

By TVfan

**Epilogue: A Job Well Done, Yet Only Just Beginning…**

**Avengers Tower**

Everyone was tired as they returned to Avengers Tower. Several went off to their rooms. Spider-Man and Arachne were greeted by their family. However, the work was not done, at least not for Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man. In the past, the defeat of Dormammu would have been the end of it. Press interviews wouldn't come until the next day and they were rarely that pressing, but to a great extent those days had vanished. The press was more easily excited these days and was far more critical, not to mention the fact that the government was beginning to take a serious look into the actions of superheroes rather than simply thanking them for the hard work they did. The world had changed and he couldn't just stand idly by and leave him behind.

He slowly made his way to his office in Avengers Tower when he ran into a small collection of S.H.I.E.L.D. officers. They represented various offices within S.H.I.E.L.D. and were likely there to report on how bad the situation was.

"So… how bad is it?" Tony asked, as he flipped the facemask of his armor up.

"The battle with Lukin attracted little in the way of attention and we have teams there picking up the pieces and cleaning anything that might be a threat," the first officer spoke up, "as per your orders, sir…"

"What of the other Kronas Industries offices?" Tony asked.

"Worldwide… sir?" the officer answered somewhat more nervously, "That may take time… as things unfold. Things will get out, sir, and since Aleksander Lukin is held as an American political ally… you may face some criticism for attacking his New York offices."

"That'll go away once we show them that he was behind the attack in Boston," Tony dismissed it.

The officer nodded and shrugged, "What will you ultimately want done with Kronas, sir?"

"All properties are to be seized by S.H.I.E.L.D. and searched and cleaned," Tony answered, "Any weapons… particularly super weapons… are to be confiscated… but elements that are the normal stock and trade of electronics companies… and goods that don't go boom… are to be resold to private bidders who might wish to buy out what remains of Kronas."

"And the employees, sir?" the officer asked, "Many of men Red Team took down were on Kronas payrolls…"

"Those involved with the battle in New York will be held under assaulting S.H.I.E.L.D. officer charges," Tony answered, "all others… provided they don't interfere… are to be let go or offered positions with whatever company that buys Kronas."

The officer nodded, reached to his belt and pulled out a flat computer-tablet and was soon typing away. In the meantime, Tony turned to a different officer who stood quietly holding up several sheets of paper. The man snapped to attention when he was certain he had the new Director's full attention.

"The bigger issue, sir, might be the battle with Dormammu that you reported," the second S.H.I.E.L.D. officer reported, "his appearance and the resulting battle did alarm many people. Our lines were actually overwhelmed by callers actually calling for the Avengers to intervene with the attack and that we got so many calls for help that the overload went over to the standard emergency response services…"

"I take it the NYPD wants an explanation?" Tony asked.

"As do the press, which found out about Dormammu's attack because of the overload of 911 calls," the reporting officer nodded.

"Well…" Tony sighed, "That'll actually be easy to handle. I take it the press is already here?"

"Yes sir," the officer nodded, "we have them waiting in the press room…"

"Then they can get the full scoop on Red and Blue Teams took down Dormammu and thwarted an attack on the US by Kronas Industries," Tony gave a weak smile.

The third S.H.I.E.L.D. officer, Sharon Carter stepped forward with some concern.

"That may be the tricky part, sir, as Avengers: Blue Team was tailing after a group of bank robbers in New Jersey," she spoke carefully, "Now… the press isn't too excited by it… but the bank has stated it wants its money back and does what updates from either S.H.I.E.L.D. or Avengers: Blue Team on the investigation and capture of said criminals. They aren't interested in Dormammu and won't be placated by it."

It was at this time that Tony learned he had been followed as he heard Steven Rogers, Captain America, speak behind him. As he spoke, he turned to see that Steve had also pulled his own mask back.

"I assume you're referring to the Hood and his gang?" Steve asked.

Sharon nodded.

"That'll make things tricky for the bank then, I'm afraid," Steve answered with a sigh, "because the Hood was working FOR Dormammu. We beat the guys he had with him and had the Hood cornered when he summoned Dormammu to our plane. We had to break off from the Hood in order to deal with what became a much larger threat."

"So…?" Sharon said slowly.

"It's likely the Hood got away with the money," Steve sighed, "chasing him is likely to be an ongoing investigation."

Tony watched as Sharon sighed and Steve came to stand beside him. The reference to the Hood gave him reminders of the mystery crook who had robbed a bank during the Registration Act controversy with Madam Masque. Apparently the Hood had to be the same crook, and if he was, he was likely to be a problem if his organization held together. The only thing that Tony figured really counted in their favor was that super-villain teams always failed in the end. They were too busy out for their own advancement to work together.

"The bank people aren't going to like that, and the Government will like it even less," Sharon warned, "they may have lost on the Registration Act… but don't think for a minute that they won't use this as an excuse to argue that they were right all along."

"I'd think we can handle the Government on the issue," Tony raised his hands to calm down the female agent, "after all… it's not like you'll be giving up with regard to chasing the Hood, right?"

"No, we won't be giving up," Steve agreed, "and Doctor Strange even said that his powers will likely weaken as a result of Dormammu being sent back to his other-dimensional prison with part of the Hood's cloak."

"See… we're not entirely in a bad spot," Tony agreed.

"That's good, sir, because the press is ready," the second S.H.I.E.L.D. agent reported.

Tony nodded and glanced over to Steve, "I may need you to come with me on this one. Since both team's first missions intersected with each other… they're going to have questions for both of us."

Steve nodded in agreement. The two began to quietly walk along, being led by Sharon Carter and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who had reported on the press's interest in Dormammu's attack.

"So, was there any reason why you were following me?" Tony asked curiously.

"Mostly to thank you for helping us out with Dormammu," Steven answered, "We really needed it."

Tony actually laughed a bit, "You know… I was actually close to calling you guys for help against Lukin."

"You did well in getting him to help with the Cosmic Cube," Steve commented, "Made things easier in the end… and honestly would be a bit of a victory for your Initiative idea with two Avengers teams… maybe not a complete victory but we made far more progress than not…"

"Shame the press isn't likely to see it that way," Tony answered as he flipped his mask down and listened to his armor's systems hiss as they pressurized the system.

**SVU Safe House, The Bronx**

The Hood awoke slowly and felt groggy as he did so. On top of it, he also felt a pounding headache, as though he was stomped on by an elephant. He gave a pained groan and sat up to find himself on a rather beat up couch with his take from the New Jersey Brown Brothers Harriman and Company Bank. The couches cushions groaned as he tried to sit up and he soon noticed the rundown look of the room he was in. That gave him the impression that he was in John's apartment, which left him slightly puzzled. The last thing he remembered, he was in the bar that was supposed to be the headquarters of his union of super-villains against Captain America's Avengers' team.

"Ugggh," the Hood groaned and let his hood fall back as he sat up.

The sound of his groan brought John to the doorway from another room in the apartment.

"You okay?" John asked him.

"I've been better," Parker Robbins, the Hood, admitted, "I feel like an elephant was dancing on my head."

"Wouldn't surprise me," John answered "Ms. Frost said you were pretty beat up by the Avengers when she and the Spot brought you back… the only reason they hadn't cuffed you is that they were too busy fighting a giant flaming guy."

"Who?" Parker Robbins said slowly.

"A giant flaming guy," John answered, "we could see him from here, actually, looked sort of like a demon…"

"That was Dormammu," Robbins said slowly rubbing his head.

Things were rather fuzzy with regards to what he knew and what he didn't. He did remember the deal he'd made with Dormammu to get the hood that gave him his powers, which including knowing the names, addresses, personalities, powers, and opinions of nearly every superhuman instinctively. Now that seemed to be gone. His mind was utterly blank on who 'Ms. Frost' was.

"Figured," John commented, "the guy was huge and Ms. Frost said that he was why you weren't arrested by the Avengers."

"Ms. Frost?" Robbins asked dumbly.

"Madame Masque, remember?" John responded.

Robbins recognized that name. He remembered recruiting Madame Masque for his Super Villains Union, but he couldn't fully remember why. From what he remembered from the news, she had no super powers.

"What happened to Dormammu?" Robbins asked, as he tried to figure out what had happened that was breaking the powers he had when he got his Hood.

"I think the Avengers ultimately beat him," John answered, "There were great flashes of blue light through the sky… what sounded like gun fire… and in the end the big demon guy screamed 'no' and then vanished."

"So… my link with him is severed," Robbins said slowly, "Dormammu gave me my hood and with him defeated… the power it gave me is gone too."

"You okay?" John asked, raising an eyebrow and looking rather puzzled, "I mean… you pulled off a major bank heist… went toe to toe with the Avengers and got away with the money."

Robbins only sighed, "Yeah… but without the powers of my Hood… I'm nothing. Nothing more than a petty street thug with nothing that a Super Villain would respect…"

"I wouldn't quite say that," came a new voice from the doorway to the apartment hallway.

Robbins jumped a bit at the surprise and turned to see a woman in a largely black Lycra jumpsuit with white gloves and boots and fairly tight fitting white body armor that looked like a one-piece swimsuit. A belt holding two gun holsters hung from her hips and long black hair framed a gold mask that only allowed Robbins to see her eyes. He recognized her as Madam Masque, and as he looked to her… something flashed through his mind and eyes… _Madame Masque – Real Name: Countess Giuletta Nefaria – Alias: Whitney Frost – Powers: None, but is a skilled gymnast, markswoman, and strategist – Occupation: Has run various criminal organizations with close ties to the Maggia – Main Issue: Bears a strong personal grudge against Tony Stark: Iron Man for a failed Maggia raid on Stark Enterprises and for Stark's inability to save her adopted father…_

"My powers," Robbins said slowly.

"What about them?" Madame Masque questioned, "And what were you going on about not having respect?"

Robbins sighed heavily and decided it might be best to come clean, at least with John and the woman he'd picked to be his second in command within the Super Villains Union.

"The hood I wear gives me my power… its origins are magical in a way… much like the stuff Doctor Strange plays with."

"So you've played around in the occult," Madame Masque shrugged, "You wouldn't be the first hero or villain to do so."

"Actually… I don't," Robbins said slowly, "I'm really not much more than a petty thug… a street criminal… maybe smarter than most and having bigger dreams than many… but still a street criminal. I've been webbed up by Spider-Man for petty robberies at least twice, knocked out cold by Luke Cage once, left tied up for the Police by the Prowler… the I killed… about three times. Not a particularly successful crime rate…"

He watched as Madame Masque's eyes remained rather calm and unreadable behind the mask she wore.

"Then… back during the super hero 'civil war' I grumbled and wished for the power to take advantage of it… I knew that the world's super villains are ten times that of the world's heroes… yet because they all go it alone… they get beat up by super hero teams," Robbins continued, "the solution is obvious… work together and form a stable team… but no super villain would likely give me the time of day without powers… so in fit of frustration, I wished for it…"

"I'd take it then, that Dormammu was listening?" Madame Masque asked.

"Yes… he couldn't do much from the dimension he was in… but if I accepted his deal, he could give me the hood that I wear, which gave me my powers," Robbins answered, "and with Dormammu defeated… if figured the hood's abilities went with it…"

"Did they?" John asked curiously.

"I thought they did… but it would appear that I didn't lose them… they've merely been dulled," Robbins answered, "all the knowledge is there… but I need to be close to that person to access the knowledge the hood gives me… which probably means that the other powers the hood gave me are also reduced."

"Still more than me," Madame Masque said slowly, "Though you are an idiot…"

Robbins didn't answer immediately.

"You lucked into powers and paraded like you knew what you were doing," Madame Masque said slowly, "Shoot… you even made me believe you knew what you were doing… but in reality all you are is a noob with great power. Smart to know that many of us wouldn't 'respect' you without powers… and dumb enough to not tell the full truth in order to be the boss…"

"I take it you want to leave the 'union' then?" Robbins asked slowly, figuring that his entire scheme was broken.

"Are you kidding?" Madame Masque actually laughed, "We managed to rob two different banks… in broad daylight… and got away with it. You had to fight the Avengers after the second one and managed to be able to get away without getting arrested or losing the money. You may be stupid… but for the most part your little union idea's worked. Everyone got out and will stick around…"

"So…" John began, who seemed left behind by the whole exchange, while Robbins actually gave a hopeful smile.

"So the Super Villains Union will keep going and will follow the Hood," Madame Masque answered, "Provided things remain rather loose and revenue is shared…"

"That's been my intention from the beginning," Robbins answered, "No more running around on your own against heroes… even if they aren't in teams… no more shut cuts and unfair divvying up the take. We work together and in the end win together."

Madame Masque nodded, "So what now?"

"For the moment, we lay low," Robbins answered, "We made a good showing… but lucked out in the Avengers turning to fight Dormammu… and we lost our main base. It'll take time to find a new one, make sure it's secure… and above all find out who didn't join us in the initial meeting and convince them to join the union. We can probably shape the battle with the Avengers to our advantage."

**Avengers Tower**

Cap followed Iron Man into the room that had been put aside for press conferences. He figured that the room had been set aside for the Avengers only, but with his responsibilities now expanded, it became S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters as well, and thus the room had to serve many additional functions than just the Avengers. And to his great surprise there were several cameramen and reporters there. There wasn't as many as there would be if the press conference was during normal business hours, but there still a large number of reporters there.

"Got to love the twenty-four hour news cycle, right?" Iron Man asked with a touch of humor in his voice.

"I suppose," Cap whispered back, "I'll answer questions and make some comments on the fight with the Hood… but this is all yours."

"Fun," Iron Man sighed and stepped up to the podium while Cap moved to stand behind him and to his right. He then looked out over the crowd. "Are we all here?" he asked after a moment. Iron Man watched the gathered reporters nod before he cleared his throat and prepared to give the initial press conference regarding what had just happened.

"Good… evening," Iron Man spoke beginning the press conference, "Yesterday we introduced the new Avengers teams… Red and Blue teams and unveiled the Initiative Plan to make sure that new heroes get proper training and become effective protectors for society."

He paused to let a few flash-bulbs go off as a few newspaper photographers were there. After that moment, he continued.

"Today the Initiative Plan had its first real test in actions taken by two different and very powerful foes," Iron Man continued, "One in a misguided effort to oppose the Red Skull attacked the US believing that we were still in league with that madman. The other was from a common thug who got extraordinarily lucky in that he fell into power and was serving an extra-dimensional being who sought to conquer Earth."

There were a few gasps, but the reporters didn't say anything, yet.

"Using the Cosmic Cube that was in his possession and the resources of a major international company, Aleksander Lukin attacked a Stark Industries with a cosmically created construct," Iron Man continued, "When we went to question him as to why he did what he had done he attacked the Avengers."

"Did he create the flaming giant?"

"What about the overload of 911 calls?"

"What…?"

Iron Man raised his hands and waved them down, trying to calm them down, "Please… Cap and I will answer any and all questions once I've completed the explanation of what has happened."

Iron Man then took a deep a breath and began again. As he explained he gestured to Captain America, "While Red Team and I were investigating Lukin's attack on Boston, Captain America and Blue Team were busy responding the actions of a new supervillain… calling himself the Hood. He and his gang robbed a bank in New Jersey and were tracked to the Bronx by Avengers: Blue Team. The Hood and his allies were defeated…"

"Did Blue team recover the money?"

"Did the Hood create the flaming giant?"

"What about the overload of 911 calls?"

"What…"

"I said I would answer questions AFTER I had finished explaining," Iron Man said firmly, with a hint of irritation in his voice. Once they quieted down, Iron Man continued the announcement, "but in their victory… it was revealed that the Hood, despite the crimes he'd committed, was really nothing more than a pawn. The flaming giant, as you identified him, was Dormammu, an enemy of Doctor Strange's who gave the Hood his powers for the purpose of unleashing Dormammu on Earth. The Hood obviously used his powers against Avengers: Blue Team and in the process of doing so, by the time Cap's team beat him, he had unleashed enough energy from the dimension that Dormammu was imprisoned in that he was able to cross the dimensional plane at full power…"

There was another series of gasps and mumbles shared between some of the members of the press that were there.

"The battle against Dormammu was a threat that not even one team of Avengers was capable of defeating," Iron Man continued, "In fact… his appearance even convinced Lukin to back out of his threats and assist the Avengers against Dormammu… and that was the source of the clashing flame and blue light that was noticed, leading to the massive number of 911 calls to S.H.I.E.L.D. and local police. In the end, Dormammu was defeated and sent back to his prison…and Lukin did play a major role in the victory… though doing so took more energy than his Cosmic Cube could safely control and it exploded in the course of the fight, killing him."

Iron Man took a step back and waited. No questions immediately came. After a moment he did speak.

"We will now open up the floor to some questions for me or Captain America who lead Blue Team," Iron Man spoke to let them know they could answer questions.

"Iron Man, you say that Aleksander Lukin was behind the attack on Boston and fought with the Avengers in your investigation… yet you say that he also helped in dealing with Dormammu," a CNN reporter asked, "can you explain this?"

"I would say that it's the result of Lukin having a rather complex personality," Iron Man said slowly, "It's doubtful that he's ever been the 'friend' that many have thought… but in many ways neither is he some madman… much of his attack was intended to be a counter to the Red Skull… You may describe that as crazy or stupid… and you might be right in that… but it doesn't change the fact that he was smart enough that Dormammu was a bigger threat than anything else."

"What happened to the Cosmic Cube?" another reporter asked, "What about Kronas Industries?"

"The Cosmic Cube and its energies were destroyed in the fight with Dormammu," Iron Man answered, "In fact it was the cube's explosion that killed Lukin. As for the future of Kronas Industries… S.H.I.E.L.D. will be making sure that any and all weapons developed by the company do not end up on the black market and no project that could pose a threat to the US or global peace is left… the facilities, however, will be sold off to other companies and Kronas Employees, provided they do not interfere with S.H.I.E.L.D. or are arrested as part of tonight's battle will be kept with the company and any company that buys Kronas will have to keep those employees in their employ."

"Steven Rogers," a Fox News reporter asked, "Iron Man reported that the Hood managed to escape Blue Team… did you at least recover the money that they stole?"

Captain America slowly stepped forward, "Unfortunately no. Dormommu's arrival required all of Blue Team just to try and slow him down and we were unable to get the Hood or the money he had taken. We will, however, continue the hunt for the Hood and will do our best catch him and recover the money. The money may not be recovered, but the Hood really isn't much more than a common street thug with super powers. The odds of him keeping his organization together are poor. Someone in his organization or the Hood, himself, will make a mistake."

"The Hood supposedly got his powers from Dormammu," the CNN reporter asked, "What's his power level now that Dormammu has been defeated?"

"Doctor Strange has assured me that with the spell used to send Dormammu back to his dimension that the Hood's powers will be at best gone and at worst greatly reduced," Cap answered, "Which means the threat the Hood poses as an individual is also greatly reduced."

"Can Dormammu return again?" the Fox News reporter asked.

"It's possible… but not likely," Cap answered, "He also likely lost a great deal of power trying to combat the Cosmic Cube's power…"

"But he COULD return at some point?" the Fox News answer repeated.

"Yes," Cap sighed.

"And would point to the need for the Initiative plan," Iron Man added, "The world needs heroes and we need to work together. Without Blue Team, the Hood not only would have gotten away with his crime but would be far more powerful. Without Red Team, Lukin would have gained the power necessary to essentially take over the world… and without both teams working together… Dormammu would have enslaved the Earth."

"Iron Man… how would you rate the start of your Initiative Plan?" a different reporter asked.

"I'd say we made a very good first showing," Iron Man answered, "There's a lot still to do and the Hood is still out there… but Red and Blue Teams performed in the finest traditions of the Avengers and the BIG threats in all of this were defeated."

**The Next Morning**

The conference had gone pretty well and the morning news coverage on both Avengers Teams was fairly positive, though Tony was fairly surprised and even shocked to find that the NYPD was accusing Spider-Man of murder despite the fact that he had been with Avengers: Blue Team at the time of the murder. It only added to the list of things that needed to be done, and wasn't one that was going to give anyone good press. The best they could do was prove Spider-Man innocent and go from there, and it wasn't something that Tony liked that much. He had to put his armor on just to deal with a pushy detective.

He'd just come out of his armory to try and get back to some of the main work that he was supposed to be doing for the day, when he walked into something large and powerfully built. He staggered back a few steps and saw it was one Avengers: Blue Team, Luke Cage. And judging by the look on his face, something didn't go right for him, either.

"Sorry, Luke," Tony brushed himself off, "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going…"

"It's okay, I was looking for you, and actually," Luke Cage replied, and gave a sigh," I was wondering if I could get the security camera footage from that detective verbally assaulting Peter…"

This made Tony raise an eyebrow with some surprise, but he figured that word of what had gone on earlier in the morning had spread through to the other Avengers as well.

"I see… any reason?" Tony asked.

"Only that I don't trust the police in this case," Luke Cage answered, "they wouldn't have just come in and tried to arrest him with yelling and screaming and no evidence unless they were bound and determined to arrest him on their own."

"I don't really trust them either, but we don't have much choice in the matter," Tony answered, "besides the security footage won't prove Peter is innocent."

"I figured I'd get Jess to look into the murder and only use the tape to prove that the NYPD won't be seriously looking for the real murder," Luke replied.

"You wish to run a separate investigation into a case the NYPD has open?" Tony asked.

Luke nodded as the two walked along, "Yeah… you can allow that, right? Being the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director and all…"

"Well…" Tony began to muse as he rubbed his chin, "given that this is a standard murder case for the moment and not an issue of terrorism, I can't take over the investigation… I can give Jessica specialized clearance as part of say… an 'cleaning house' effort within the Avengers… it'd be an Avengers issue and within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s jurisdiction. That would grant her the right investigate the murder at the same time and separately from the police…though I'll say in warning that agencies won't necessarily HAVE to give evidence over to her."

"Don't worry, I'll be going along," Luke promised, "We'll get to the bottom of it and Spider-Man and Arachne will be able to swing free again."

Tony nodded, "Let's go to my office… I'll print out the appropriate forms, licenses, and info you'll need to have full clearance for this side investigation and I'll get the footage you'll need to convince Jessica."

"Thanks man," Luke gave a sigh of relief.

Tony nodded, gave a smile and placed one hand on Luke's shoulder, "It's no problem. Red or Blue Team, we're all Avengers."

0-0-0

Getting the tapes and paperwork in line for Luke Cage to go on his mission to prove the NYPD in their accusations wrong didn't take too terribly wrong, but was long enough for Tony to fall slightly behind on the other related tasks and paperwork that would need to be done. Some of it related to the Avengers and others related to the other big portions of the Initiative Program that he hadn't been able to get fully up and running yet because of Lukin's attack on Boston. He was about to look over the S.H.I.E.L.D. reports that were coming in regarding the inspection of the Kronas facilities worldwide when the buzzer to his office door went off.

"Come in," Tony answered it and looked to see the bureaucrat, Nigel Rite enter. He looked as cheerful as he ever did. "Ah… Mr. Rite… what can I do for you?"

Nigel Rite didn't say anything. He stepped in with a major scowl on his face. He set down his briefcase, which made an audible thud, and then sat down opposite Tony.

"I trust you are actually doing your job," Nigel Rite spoke after a moment.

"I am," Tony answered, "And muddling through a lot of the other issues that have come up."

"Has Peter Parker been arrested yet and stripped of his costume and Avengers status?" Nigel Rite questioned.

"No."

"Have you incarcerated the Hood and recovered all the money?" Nigel Rite questioned.

"No," Tony said slowly, now sounding more skeptical as to whether or not the man had a real point, "Peter Parker… Spider-Man… didn't commit the murder he's been accused of… and the Hood is still an ongoing investigation. You can't expect overnight results."

Nigel Rite didn't answer immediately.

"And even with that, you have to admit that we did succeed in stopping/preventing a major disaster," Tony finished, "No corporatist dictatorship from Kronas and no extra-dimensional conquest from Dormammu."

"Well… in that, I suppose you're right there," Nigel Rite said slowly as though he didn't want to admit that the Initiative idea was working, "but you have a LONG way to go before you have the government's trust."

"I'm sure," Tony said back, "Was there something you needed, Mr. Rite?"

Tony watched as Nigel Rite leaned to a side and lifted his briefcase into his lap. Once he had it there, he heard a soft click of its latches flipping open. Once open, the man fished out a lone sheet of paper and handed it to Tony.

"I have been authorized by the Federal Government to inform you that the Justice Department and the Defense Department will be continuing the Thunderbolts Program," Nigel Rite said slowly, "and as a show of 'good faith' we'll work with your Initiative Plan and will take Colorado as its main headquarters…"

Tony looked at the list of papers that he'd been handed. All of them were pieces of formal bureaucratic paperwork. It gave this 'Thunderbolts' rather wide responsibilities and kept its chain of command tightly linked to the US government and its military chain of command. He also noticed that while the official base was in Colorado, its listed jurisdiction was global in scale.

"The Initiative program would have the teams be more localized and responsible for their individual states," Tony commented, "your jurisdiction and wording reads more like a national paramilitary unit…"

"In many ways, that is what it is," Nigel Rite nodded, "But that's what will work better… not a bunch of small teams divided among the states… I mean… who's going to be a threat to a state like Montana or even Minnesota? Any team of super heroes or super powered soldiers will need the authority to be wherever the threats are. And that is what this Thunderbolts team will be."

"And who might be making up this Thunderbolts team?" Tony asked carefully.

"United States Marine Corps General Maria Hill will be the overall commander along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales," Nigel Rite answered, "As for the actual field team… we're still in the process of building it… though the field leader will be Norman Osborn."

Tony didn't answer as Nigel Rite then stood up.

"We are more than willing to work with the Initiative program… but you must know that you'll fail," Nigel Rite spoke, "You simply have no control over rogue and sloppy heroes who are bound and determined to ruin the lives of others…"

"And you think the Green Goblin is going to save lives?" Tony asked, "The man is guilty of dozens of major felony crimes ranging from murder to money laundering…"

"We believe in a strong hand, Director Stark," Nigel Rite finished, "we can control him… which you can't say about Steven Rogers or Peter Parker."

0-0-0

Cap, meanwhile was busy trying to work through the issues that were left by the victory over Dormammu. He knew of the police's accusations against a member of his team, but he was fairly certain that the truth would prove those accusations wrong. In the meantime, he still had the Hood to catch… or at least some of the money that was stolen to recover. And for the moment, he was talking with the one member of Avengers: Blue Team that could easily track the Hood, Doctor Strange.

"You're certain you haven't felt anything?" Cap asked him.

"As in on par with what I felt when the Hood likely got his hood from Dormammu?" Doctor Strange replied, "I am certain... and given that his powers are at worst lessened by Dormammu's defeat… even if he has used his powers, they may not register as the threat they were when Dormammu was able to draw on them."

Cap only sighed heavily and looked down. It was all a frustrating picture and he was certain that someone would want to take pot shots at the Avengers for failing to win on every level despite the fact that thanks to Dormammu and his attempt to conquer Earth that made the Hood and the bank in New Jersey being robbed much smaller than they had been initially. On some level, that sort of thing depressed him… as the Avengers were usually worshiped by nearly everyone. Even when not everything went their way, the Avengers usually didn't take too much criticism. But, the word had changed of course, and Cap figured the Scarlet Witch's mental breakdown played a big role in the changes that turned official opinions against the Avengers.

"I take it you aren't having any more luck than I am?" came Tony's voice.

Cap turned to see Tony, dressed in a suit and carrying a large coffee mug and looking rather frustrated, yet optimistic at the same time. It left Tony with a rather odd looking smile on his face. It wasn't a grin and seemed to be only a slight curve on one side of his mouth.

"If by meaning that we have no idea where the Hood has gone to after the battle… and having to wait while the NYPD figures out they've accused the wrong guy…" Cap sighed, and then said sarcastically, "then yes… we're having wonderful luck."

Tony then sighed, "I'm afraid it will get worse… the government is recreating their own Thunderbolts program with the Green Goblin leading it. Essentially claiming that despite doing a pretty good job in defeating Dormammu… that we'll screw up eventually."

Cap only shook his head, "They should be more afraid of the Goblin than anything we've made a mistake on…"

"Especially when the Initiative has only just started," Tony sighed, "Red Team… Blue Team… that's only step one, Cap. There is a lot of work still to do."

"I trust this will include dealing with the Hood?" Cap asked.

"If and when he turns up," Tony nodded, "though, I'd bet dollars to dimes he's probably going to go underground for the moment. Yeah he robbed a bank… but you still kicked his butt. The only reason he didn't go to jail was because of Dormammu. If he has any common sense, he'll lay low until the 'heat' dies down. Eventually he'll come out again and we'll be ready."

"And what of the money that he stole?" Doctor Strange asked, "Or the fact that he did kill a New York hero to try and distract us."

"Hobie Brown and his wife will be buried with honors and praise for the good that they did," Tony promised, "We probably owe him that much… given his association with Peter…"

"That'll be good," Doctor Strange nodded.

"Especially with all this nonsense with the press looking for things to be critical of regarding the defeat of Dormammu," Cap sighed, "We win one battle and yet it feels like we haven't done anything…"

"Well… we have only just gotten started," Tony sighed, "and there is a lot still to do to get the Initiative on its feet."

**Arizona Desert…**

Two figures stood calmly watching a series of news screens in a rather futuristic looking communications center. They were all covering the battles that the Avengers had just fought through. One of them was the battle with Lukin and the other being the battle with Dormammu. One figure was tall and rather skinny while the other was much more short and squat. In fact the shorter one seemed almost as if it was hovering as the head bounced up and down a millimeter or two.

"Well," the shorter figure said slowly, "One Cosmic Cube wielding villain down and one less obstacle to our ultimate victory."

"Yes," the taller figure commented dryly, barely sounding interested.

"Though… how did you know that this 'Hood' would have the power to summon Dormammu?" the shorter figure wondered, "My spies hadn't even heard of this Hood…"

"Your spies are technocrats," the taller figure dismissed the shorter figure's comment, "though…" the taller figure then chuckled, "I hadn't actually expected Lukin to give his life fighting Dormammu."

The shorter figure's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean you didn't expect the fight between both Avengers teams and Dormammu?"

"No," the taller figure answered with an almost unconcerned shrug, "Our involvement in this exercise had little to do with the Avengers, themselves. Any of them that fell would simply be a bonus… I'd actually expected the Red Skull to recognize what Lukin was doing and realize that if he didn't directly intervene… Lukin would have had him imprisoned on his island and there would have been nothing the Skull could do to change that once Lukin had completed his work…"

"Ah… so a villain/villain fight was the goal all along," the shorter figure mused and then sighed, "a shame it didn't work… Leader."

The tall figure, known for his massively enlarged cranium, the Leader, nodded, "Especially when things like the Cosmic Cube are potential X factors that are hard to predict… It can be countered and perhaps even overpowered… but the means to do so are difficult and potentially taxing… which is why I'd hoped that the bait we laid with Lukin would lure the Red Skull into a direct confrontation with the businessman."

"Perhaps he sensed the trap," the shorter figure commented, "after all… the Red Skill is almost as gifted in strategy as you."

"Don't make me laugh, MODOK" the Leader said firmly, "the man is too wedded to rather blunt ideas of politics derived from complete and utter morons who couldn't govern in a way that didn't involve beating people up. More than likely he took advantage of Avengers: Red Team deciding to investigate him after Lukin's attack on Boston."

The shorter figure, MODOK, shrugged in his hover-chair and rotated back to the television screens and watched for a moment.

"Do you think the Red Skull will interfere in our plans?" MODOK asked, "I could give subtle orders for AIM to take him out…"

"No," the Leader answered, "after all… the Skull for the moment is unimportant. Our own work is only just beginning."

The Leader smiled, "and I'm sure he'll actually smile at what we will ultimately do Tony Stark and his Initiative…"

**The End…?**

"**Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet."**

_Biblical… From the book of St. Matthew_

* Author's Note: This is the final chapter in Initiative. I do have long term plans involving The Leader and his long term plan… but there are a couple of other projects that will be chronologically closer to the Initiative and will take more from it…

Next: Thunderbolts… "In the Shadows"


End file.
